Crushing
by Hinata HyuUchiha
Summary: Post- Trouble in Tokyo/ Things change After being rejected by Terra again, Beast Boy meets a strange girl at school and starts to have feelings for her. Terra and Raven also wonder about her. But what about the girl? Is she just 'crushing' on him...or are her feelings on a completely different level? BB? (Complete!) If anyone wants the translation to Nya-nya's parts, tell me. :)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Second chance Jump City received its first ray of sunlight and the morning routine of certain superheroes started as usual.  
First breakfast then workout and fighting crime. If there is no crime anywhere at the moment, the Titans go on about their own things.  
Robin would usually sit in his room, organizing files, analyzing the various items stored in the evidence room or if he had done all of these, workout or play some basketball with Cyborg.  
Cyborg would either fix his T-Car/T-Sub, check on the Tower's security system or play some videogames.  
Raven would either read one of her spell books, meditate or listen to some relaxing music.  
Starfire would at times spend time with Silkie, either bathing or feeding it, cook some Tamaranian dish she would later force her friends to try, go to the mall, give herself a make-over (sometimes convincing Raven to do the same) or just see what Robin was up to.  
Beast Boy would usually just go back to sleep, play some games on the Gamestation or try to convince the others to do something fun (usually without success, especially if he pesters Raven long enough to give him some bruises).  
But this morning, Beast Boy was not doing any of these things.  
Ever since he met that girl that resembled Terra so much, he had been always wandering around her school.  
And no matter what she said, he just couldn't keep distance to her – there was always a part of him that needed to make sure she was ok.  
It was like he knew that Terra was still on the run – on the run from Slade, on the run from her lies, on the run from herself.  
But there was also a part that refused to forget her – that still hoped that the previous girl was still in that…shell.  
And like every morning for the past week…he was passing the High School, his eyes scanning the yard for the blonde-haired girl.  
His spirits lifted when he saw her just entering the building.  
For several days he tried hard to stop himself from following her, but today his willpower wasn't as strong.  
He hated himself for what he was about to do and with quick strides, he walked into the building.  
Rows and rows of lockers lined the hallway of the school but not many students had arrived this early.  
Beast Boy found himself turning into an early bird, each day waking up one hour earlier only so he could see a little more of his former crush.  
It was 7:15 and Beast Boy let out a yawn, realizing that last night's fight against Johnny Rancid took quite a toll on him.  
His footsteps quickened as his impatience grew and soon he found himself nearly race-walking through the hallway, his footsteps echoing in the eerie silence. "Terra?" he murmured, unsure if she would get mad that he had come back to her.  
Only his footsteps answered him and his hope dimmed down.  
But he wouldn't give up on her!  
When she became Slade's apprentice, he might have shunned her away…but he never betrayed her.  
And this led to her change from apprentice to Titan – from villain to…anti-hero.  
But he will make sure that she'll become a hero again – if it's the last thing he would do!  
And suddenly he stopped as a squeaking sound caught his attention.  
Beast Boy turned around and saw that a door just swung closed to his left.  
He felt heat rise to his face, recognizing what room Terra might have entered.  
The shape-shifter was facing the girls' locker room.  
Meanwhile the rest of the Titans woke up from their slumber and were currently gathering for breakfast.  
"Who's up for some bacon?" Cyborg beamed presenting his hungry teammates with sizzling strips of pure meat.  
"Who is the up for some of my healthy 'Kripnilk'?" Starfire followed close up and held a pot of bubbling and steaming black stew.  
Everybody made moaning sounds, realizing that it must twice as bad as it looked and Starfire slammed the pot angrily against the table, causing the others to flinch.  
"This time you have to try some of the dish have prepared," Starfire insisted and she was rewarded with nervous looks.  
Raven smirked as Starfire's eyes glowed angrily at Robin and Cyborg.  
"I…have gotten sick after our fight with Johnny Rancid," Robin said meekly and coughed afterwards and Starfire narrowed her eyes at him.  
"And my systems can't handle any of this…'Krapmilk'. I might shut down or lose precious data, Star," Cyborg cried and Starfire's eyes glowed brighter, causing the boys to go pale.  
"Hm, then I believe you do not deserve any of this traditional delicacy," Starfire said, turning away from the almost gagging males.  
She leaned over her pot and dug her spoon inside and Cyborg and Robin watched with disgust as the black stew left a trail hanging from the spoon as Starfire lifted it. "Raven is much more 'the nice' and will try my dish because a friend will do anything for you," she said with a smile and brought the spoon closer to the half-demon who stared wide-eyed at the…thing coming closer to her.  
"Did you even bother to ask!?" Raven shouted horrified. "Let Beast Boy try it first."  
Starfire blinked in confusion but turned to the changeling's seat nonetheless. "Do the 'open wide'," she cooed before Cyborg's voice broke in.  
"Uh…Star? Where is Beast Boy?"  
She opened her eyes and saw that her spoon was moving towards an empty chair.  
"I would like to know that too," Robin murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  
"Don't act like you don't know," Raven said and the 3 teammates looked at her before their eyes lowered at the same time.  
"I know where he has gone," Starfire murmured.  
"He goes there every day for the past week," Cyborg said in the same tone.  
"And he always thinks that she will come back," Robin mumbled glumly.  
"But he won't see that that girl doesn't even want to remember him. He doesn't realize that he's only hurting himself," Raven said and stood up from her chair.  
"But what can we do to make him see that he should forget about her?" Cyborg wondered aloud and looked at Raven for answers.  
"The only thing we can do is…talk to him."  
Their expressions remained grim, realizing that if he still looked for her after one week…that they might not be able to change his mind.  
"But it ultimately depends on him. He can choose to let go of her…or be haunted by her previous self he desperately searches for inside that stranger for the rest of his life."  
Raven's words sent shivers down their spines.  
But they knew she was right!  
The shape-shifter felt his heart speed up its beating, realizing that he might see more of Terra than he actually bargained for.  
His hands clenched to fists, not willing to let some intriguing images stop him from helping Terra find her way back into her old life.  
Beast Boy stepped closer to the door and swallowed. But what if she will push him away again – like all the other times she did?  
His face fixed in determination – he will make sure that she won't push him away this time.  
He lifted his hand and slowly pushed open the door and his face turned to utter surprise.  
Terra stood in front of him and she immediately took a step back when she saw him attempting to enter a rather private area.  
The shape-shifter closed the space she created, letting the door slowly swing closed.  
And suddenly the blonde-haired girl felt intimidated, realizing that must have a very specific purpose if he came looking for her here after she had told him that he couldn't enter this room and her thoughts made herself obvious through the red color that sneaked onto her cheeks and she avoided eye-contact. "W-what are you doing here?" she asked and her voice came out low and almost unsure. He gave her a smile and she felt a smile trying to force itself onto her lips but she kept her thin line.  
"I just wanted to see you," he said in an equally low voice and she frowned, wondering how he actually wanted to see her.  
"I told you…that the girl you look for doesn't exist," she said firmly and saw that his brows furrowed in determination.  
"And I told you…that I know who you are!"  
Terra's eyes went to her shoes. "Beast Boy…"  
She felt him inch slightly closer at the softened tone in her voice and she wished to have kept her cold demeanor. "Just leave."  
She dared to look up and saw a frown appear on his face. "Not before I do something."  
And with surprising reflexes the shape-shifter had grabbed Terra's wrist, causing her to gasp. "N-no!"  
She felt herself being pulled forward and suddenly her legs felt like jelly, staggering awkwardly towards the Titan.  
Something slammed into her right hand and she opened her eyes.  
She noticed a titan communicator in her palm and her face heated up once again in embarrassment, feeling silly having such thoughts from Beast Boy. But part of the heat was also because of rage – because he just was too blind to see that she was trying to live a life.  
"Please come back!" he said, her wrist still in his hand.  
Her eyes narrowed at him as the sentence emptied her patience. "Don't you understand that I don't want to see you anymore!" she shouted angrily and threw the communicator angrily against his head before she dashed out of the locker room.  
"Terra!" Beast Boy cried after recovering from the hit and dashed after her, refusing to let her go.  
He saw the blonde-haired girl turn the corner and he turned as well.  
And suddenly he collided with something, causing him to fall down.  
"Ow. Watch where you're going!" he said angrily.  
"Gomenasai," came a girl's voice and Beast Boy's eyes shot open at the strange words.  
A dark-haired girl knelt in front of him, probably having fallen down as well when they collided. Her eyes seemed small unlike Terra's or her friends.  
Beast Boy was sure she was Chinese!  
And somehow she seemed familiar.  
"Who are you?" he asked her, suddenly wanting to know from where he knew her.  
The girl looked confused at the finger he pointed at her before she pointed to herself and answered with a smile: "Miko Tezumi-chan!"  



	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Stranger Beast Boy gave her a confused look, still not knowing who she was.  
"Watashi…Miko Tezumi," the girl repeated slowly, pointing to herself so he would understand.  
The confused look still stayed before he stood up. "It still doesn't ring any bells for me."  
"Baka!" she muttered under her breath. "Sorry for crashing into you like that," he chuckled nervously. "I gotta go and find Terra," he said before he dashed through the hallway.  
The dark-haired girl smiled.  
The changeling sped up his sprint through the hallway that was slowly filling with teenagers, trying to make up for the distance that he let be made between him and the girl of his dreams.  
He turned another corner when he saw Terra just entering a door and he skid to a stop just in front of it.  
He sneaked a peek from the glass pane and saw that her class was already filled with students and he saw her turning her head before she frowned at him and turned back to the board.  
An adult's voice began talking in a monotonous tone and he saw Terra taking notes in her notebook and a sigh escaped his throat.  
"I guess I'll just wait for her to finish," he mumbled and dropped himself onto the floor, watching the clock on the opposite wall as the seconds ticked by.  
How long would her class last?  
How long would he have to wait until she'll realize that she's meant to be a Titan?  
How long…until she'll realize that he loves her more than himself – much more than the duration of time itself? He didn't know…but he would wait…and watch as the hand of the clock skipped slowly to the next number.  
Meanwhile red lights filled the Titan Tower and 4 heroes made their way to the T-Car.  
"Cinderblock's on a rampage!" Cyborg informed his team.  
"Where?" the Titan leader asked as he opened the door of his side of the car.  
"In Jump City Museum," Cyborg answered as he started up the car.  
"What about Beast Boy?" Raven asked from the back of her seat.  
Robin glanced at her from the rearview mirror. "Now's a good time to talk to him."  
She nodded before pulling out her Titan communicator and activating it.  
The sound of the bell rang through the hallway and Beast Boy woke up with a start before the classroom door opened and students started walking out.  
Beast Boy quickly got to his feet, searching once again for the blonde-haired girl.  
And suddenly he saw her rushing out of the classroom with quick steps. "Terra, wait!"  
But his voice only caused the girl to speed up and Beast Boy matched her pace before she turned a corner. He turned as well…and was surprised to see that she stopped running, her back facing him.  
"Stop running already!" he gasped.  
And suddenly he stopped in his tracks when he saw that her shoulders were shaking.  
"Terra? Are you alright?" he asked concerned and carefully resumed his approach on her and placed a hand on her shoulder that stopped shaking at the touch.  
"I just want you back," he murmured, trying not to scare her.  
He heard her sigh before her hands turned to fists – fists that began shaking.  
But she remained silent and the changeling began to grow impatient. "Please, Terra! You were happy back then…we all were."  
He saw her shaking her head weakly, her hair flowing slightly with her movement.  
And suddenly his impatience gave rise to anger and he forcefully turned her to face him.  
And a look of pure shock crossed his face as Slade's words from the House of Mirrors echoed inside his ears.  
"I'm not the one hurting her. You are!"  
Terra's smirk and her glowing hand that pointed at him made him deny Slade's words…but her streaming tears confirmed them.  
And before he could tell her to stop, he noticed a crack opening under him, dropping him into an empty void…  
"Terra!" he shouted and bolted upright before he blinked in confusion.  
The ticking of the clock made him realize that he was still on the floor of the hallway of Terra's school.  
And suddenly he realized that his communicator was beeping and his eyes wandered over to the sound.  
He looked in surprise when he realized that the dark-haired girl from earlier held it in her hand, looking at the device in confusion.  
"Oh, it's you," he mumbled and stood up and she gave him a shy smile. "I think I have to get that," he said, taking the yellow device from her hand before her hand landed on his.  
Her hand was small but warm and the shape-shifter looked at her in confusion.  
"D-demo…" she mumbled before she pointed to the door of Terra's classroom and Beast Boy looked through the glass pane and saw that Terra had packed away her books and stood up.  
"What do you mean?" he asked as he turned to look at her and her smile remained on her face.  
"Terra-san," she said simply before he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.  
"Terra what?"  
She pointed at the girl behind the glass pane and Beast Boy barely registered something with 'ai' in her flow of words.  
"Can't you just speak English?" he wondered and suddenly he felt the sense of familiarity inside of him.  
Why did it seem that he knew her from somewhere?  
Tezumi put her index and middle finger on her palm of the other hand and made walking motions before she pointed at him and did the same.  
"You mean I should follow her?" he guessed and she looked expectantly at him.  
He pointed to Terra and pretended to walk and she nodded her head and he felt a smile pulling at his lips before he realized that his communicator was still beeping relentlessly.  
With a frown, he turned off the device. "You're right! Terra is more important than some lectures from Robin!"  
The door opened and Tezumi stepped back, making way for the students to pass – a certain blonde-haired girl included.  
The Asian stared at the girl that kept the green boy's interest as she passed them with quick steps, oblivious that they were even there.  
And a smirk played on her lips.  
Beast Boy followed the school girl before he turned back to Tezumi. "Thanks, by the way," he smiled and turned back to Terra.  
Tezumi smiled after the shape-shifter. "Ja ne."  
Meanwhile the 4 Titans were battling Cinderblock in the museum and Robin caught yet another antique artifact as it plummeted towards the ground. "Raven! Where's Beast Boy?" he asked out of breath before the stone giant charged at him and he pulled out his grappling hook.  
"First he doesn't answer and now he just turned off his device!" Raven shouted angrily and put the communicator back, ready to continue her attack.  
Robin fired his hook and the wire spun around the struggling Cinderblock before he fell.  
And to his shock, a Grecian Urn dropped from his stony hand.  
"No!"  
Just before it hit the ground, the urn floated in dark energy before it floated back onto its pedestal.  
Robin let out a sigh of relief.  
Unfortunately the relief didn't last long since Cinderblock managed to simply rip the wires off him and Robin began to feel wary.  
"What do we do now?" Starfire asked as she evaded a pillar that flew towards her before Cyborg shot it into pieces so it wouldn't damage any property.  
Robin flung a flash pellet at Cinderblock, successfully confusing him. "First take Cinderblock outside…and then we'll have a talk with Beast Boy."  
Her hair flowed gently around her as her quick steps caused her head to slightly bob up and down and Beast Boy found himself wishing he could race-walk faster.  
Why did she run? Was she…scared?  
And why did it seem that he couldn't catch up to her?  
But he wouldn't let that happen this time!  
His walk turned to a sprint and his voice came out louder than he had wished. "Why are you lying?"  
The girl stopped suddenly and turned around and for a split second, he thought that her shock turned to fear as she faced him.  
And his anger returned, remembering that he was being blamed for Terra's denial.  
"Beast Boy?"  
"Tell me why you're lying," he said as his eyes narrowed at her and he saw that her face returned to her cold demeanor. "I'm not lying! Now stop following me!"  
"Not until you tell me why you're acting like this," the shape-shifter insisted and stepped closer to her and she stepped back to keep her distance.  
Was she scared?  
He took another step forward and she took one back and Slade's words suddenly seemed to taunt him.  
He took another step forward and she took one back before her back hit the wall of the hallway.  
And his anger only increased with the fact that she began to look nervously left and right.  
But for a moment, nobody passed the hallway and he saw that she swallowed.  
"I…just…don't remember you," she murmured when he came to a stop only two steps from her.  
His thin line turned to a scowl and her eyes widened for a moment at the look of…hatred? "Liar!" he shouted and she felt herself flinch from the sudden outburst of rage.  
"I'm…not lying! I don't…even want to remember you!"  
His eyes showed surprise, his rage leaving suddenly. "But Terra-"  
"I never want to see you again, ok? Just get out of my life!" she shouted angrily and he found himself taken by surprise.  
"No, you're lying!" he said but his words didn't hold the strength they did just moments ago.  
"You're lying…to yourself! Don't you see that this is not the girl you want her to be? Get it in your head! I'm not Terra!" she screamed in desperation and dashed away, leaving the shape-shifter longing after her.  
And suddenly he had the feeling that she was becoming a stranger to him. He hung his head in sadness…before a hand landed on his shoulder.  
A weak smile played on his lips as the dark-haired girl faced him before she passed as well.  
And he knew that she wasn't a stranger.  
She was… a friend – and with a warm feeling in his heart he made his way back to the Tower.  
After all there was always tomorrow.  



	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Affection…or obsession?  
The shape-shifter arrived with a mixture of defeat and hope at the Tower in the afternoon. He tried to escape the confrontation with his teammates by morphing into a mouse and scurrying quickly to his room.  
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side today and right before he managed to get past his door, Robin's voice echoed through the hallway – and it sounded like he was angry.  
Beast Boy ignored the voice but didn't dare to move and waited for him to start his ranting so he could get over with it sooner.  
"Why didn't you answer your communicator? We needed you," Robin's voice came from behind him.  
The shape-shifter heard approaching footsteps, when he remained silent.  
"Why did you turn it off? We were in need for some back-up," Robin continued but the mouse didn't move from its spot, still facing the door. "Beast Boy!"  
Robin's angry shout got some reaction out of the green teen when the mouse turned around and a human replaced it.  
Beast Boy stared back with equal anger at his leader.  
"So now you're ready to talk?" Robin asked, crossing his arms.  
"So I'm only some 'back-up' to you? Is that it?" the green teen growled, his hands turning to fists.  
"No! You're part of our team. And you weren't there when the team needed you."  
"And where were you when I needed you guys?"  
Robin's expression turned to surprise.  
"Don't pretend, Robin! I know you thought that I was seeing things. That I just imagined Terra being alive. But let me tell you that I wasn't," Beast Boy said angrily, his eyes narrowing at the Titan leader.  
"But that doesn't mean you should abandon your team for a girl that has changed – that is not the way you remember," Robin said, his anger diminishing slightly.  
Terra's words echoed inside his head, only increasing his anger at Robin – at Terra – at Slade.  
"Things were never the way you remember them…"  
"So you think that I've lost it? You really think that I just…imagine that she's alive? What about the missing statue? What about-" Beast Boy suddenly stopped when he remembered the Slade replica. He hasn't told Robin yet and he wondered how he would react, knowing that Slade was back – even worse, seemed to have some plan on his mind.  
The leader scrutinized Beast Boy's confused expression and unfortunately misinterpreted it. "I know you're confused about…Terra. But I think that you…think too much into it. Maybe she's right. Maybe it's better if you forget her."  
Beast Boy's confusion vanished and a frown appeared on his face. "What?"  
And Robin suddenly realized that Beast Boy had drifted farther from the team than he had thought.  
"You're obsessing over her."  
Raven appeared beside Robin and Beast Boy found himself…accused of the team's shortcomings.  
"Unlike you…I care for her," the shape-shifter murmured.  
"If you really care for her…then you should let her go," Raven replied and Beast Boy looked at her in surprise.  
But how could he let her go if Slade apparently has set his sights on her again?  
How could he let her go…if he knew that she didn't choose this life?  
"How can I if I know she's not happy?" he replied but neither Raven nor Robin were impressed with his statement and their worried glances made it obvious.  
And suddenly he began to lose his trust in them and he clenched his teeth angrily at their ignorance. "I knew her better than anyone and I know that she did not choose this life! I know she's not happy!" he shouted at them.  
"How can you know? How do you not know that this is not…something you want to believe – that all of this is not really made up inside of your head?" Raven questioned him with a serious stare and for a split second, Beast Boy felt something close to…hatred for his former team.  
"You know Slade is still out there. And he definitely wants Terra back!"  
"Are you sure?"  
"How can I not be sure when…I've seen him just a week ago?"  
Robin's eyes opened wide. "You've seen him?"  
"In a way – I fought a robot lookalike."  
Raven remained silent for a moment. "But that doesn't proof…that she's really Terra…or why you should still walk after her after she told you personally to leave her alone."  
"No, Slade's forcing her to say things like this – she's forcing herself to stay away from us."  
"But we know how it feels when it is hard to let go of someone very important to us…but the most considerable thing that one can do for that precious person…is to let her go."  
Beast Boy turned to the voice and saw that Starfire joined Robin and Raven and smiled sympathetically at him.  
"None of you know anything about Terra!" he screamed, suddenly feeling that they were lying to him only for their own gain – for the supposed 'success' of the team.  
He turned away from them and walked towards his door of his room before his steps suddenly felt heavy, like something was trying to pull him back – like his body wasn't his own anymore.  
"Raven?" Starfire murmured worried, seeing that her eyes glowed white.  
"That's not the way to make him see that he's doing a mistake," Robin said, watching as Beast Boy cringed as he fought for self-control.  
"R-raven…" he groaned as he managed to look over his shoulder, seeing that she had put him under a spell.  
And Starfire and Robin watched in shock as Beast Boy's eyes turned purple.  
Images of a blonde-haired girl appeared as she stepped away before Beast Boy turned and ran in the other direction.  
In the next moment, a sizzling robot with a broken Slade mask lied under his feet as Slade's recorded voice echoed one sentence over and over again.  
"She doesn't want to see you anymore…"  
Another image appeared just as fast as Terra turned a corner after throwing his communicator at him. Raven also turned the corner and after bumping into someone, found herself facing an Asian girl.  
And while the next events passed before her eyes, she felt a strange warm feeling spreading through the shape-shifter's body – understanding, hope?  
And the half-demon found herself wondering who that girl was as she placed a comforting hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. And suddenly the images vanished into a black void and Raven suddenly felt that both, her control and her concentration were slipping.  
"W-what's going on?"  
"Raven! Get out!"  
Raven turned around, having heard faded voices but was still faced with darkness.  
"Please leave his mind!" Starfire shouted worriedly as she watched as Beast Boy cringed in pain, landing on his knees.  
"R-raven…get…out…" the shape-shifter growled, his hands grabbing the sides of his head.  
He wouldn't let her read his mind – not after they had left him alone!  
If they thought that Terra was just one of his fantasies, then they had no right to see anything about her!  
The purple color gave way to green once again before his anger showed itself in a scream, alarming the leader. "Raven!" he called to her, before he shot his grappling hook that tied the shape-shifter up.  
And that act was the final straw!  
Beast Boy's anger gave rise to his transformation into the Beast, forcing Raven's soul out of him. The wire simply snapped after the shape-shifter grew in size and with a ferocious roar, lunged towards the half-demon.  
Cyborg stepped in front of the still unconscious half-demon, causing the wild animal to slash cleanly through Cyborg's chest and the force of the attack sent the half-robot flying halfway through the hallway.  
He approached the half-demon who had woken up from her trance and was struggling to get up but suddenly he felt hands tug at him from behind – hands that were strong enough to pull him backwards.  
"Beast Boy, that is not the way to let go," Starfire groaned, trying to restrain the green animal from attacking more of her friends.  
Seeing that pulling against her was of no use, he simply moved with her pull, causing her to lose her footing. With quick reflexes, the Beast managed to get up behind her and with a swipe of his paw, sent the alien against the wall, causing a big crack to form from the impact.  
Raven got up on her feet only to see that Beast Boy had already lunged at her and she just managed to form a shield.  
The Beast rammed against the black wall full-force, causing it to shatter on the 2nd impact, Raven being rammed along with it.  
She landed on the ground close to Cyborg, but managed to get on her knees before she saw that her former friend had already approached her and had his claws aimed at her. Suddenly she saw that wires spun around the huge frame but before the animal managed to slash through the restraints, the hallway was filled in a white light as lightning traveled through the wires.  
The Beast howled in pain before taking Robin by surprise as it managed to pull the wires and the leader was flying towards him.  
With quick movement, the green animal sent his paw against the Boy Wonder before it fell onto the floor.  
Robin slowly stood up, pain shooting up his body after being sent crushing through the ground and saw that Beast Boy replaced the wild beast, screaming as the volts continued to speed across him.  
But I didn't take long for the boy to drop unconscious onto the floor and Robin managed with some difficulty to stop the flow of electricity and retract the wire.  
He was sure that Beast Boy managed to break at least a rib by the way his chest hurt every time he took a deep breath.  
Robin glanced across from him and saw that all seemed to be conscious…but the mere fact that Beast Boy had attacked his own team because of…a misunderstanding caused him to lose trust in Beast Boy.  
"What do we…do?" Raven asked, flinching from the pain inflicted to her by the painful fall.  
"Making sure…that he doesn't endanger the team or himself again," Robin said with determination.  
But how could they do this if he didn't even want to forget Terra?  
Raven's eyes wandered over to the green boy that lied peacefully on the floor…as if he had not even attacked his friends just moments ago.  
If he had gone so far as to attack them because of her…what would happen if he found out that they were trying to make him forget on purpose?  
And suddenly she remembered the Asian girl.  
And why…did she help him?  
Who was she?  



	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Attraction Beast Boy woke up inside his room to the sound of the crime alert when his door swung open.  
"It's Cinderblock! He's at the Theme Park!" Robin shouted before he continued rushing through the hallway.  
The changeling's headache doubled as images of his date with a certain blonde-haired girl flashed before his eyes – and so did his anger.  
But for the sake of the mission…and his nerves, he swallowed his anger and got up.  
He might have swallowed it but it didn't vanish and his anger showed itself during the fight with the stone giant. A green bull charged at the stone giant that was getting up, his back facing the animal. And just a few meters far, Cinderblock suddenly turned around and a bumper car hit him at high speed.  
The bull was sent flying and landed with a few rolls and bounces next to a bench. The bull vanished and the shape-shifter struggled to get up.  
"I've heard of not turning your back on the enemy but I guess in your case it should be 'don't charge while your enemy's back is facing you'," Raven mocked and lifted a hot dog stand, letting it fly towards the stony hulk.  
"Let's see how you do it then, 'Ms. I'm-so-perfect'," Beast Boy mocked back, managing to get back onto his legs and let out a chuckle, seeing that Cinderblock shattered the stand with a punch.  
Cinderblock charged at the half-demon who formed a shield but the force of the attack sent Raven tumbling to the ground after her shield failed to withstand the weight of him.  
Raven recovered quickly only to see Beast Boy jumping over her. "I guess today's not your day," Beast Boy called and Raven narrowed her eyes before they turned white.  
Robin fired his grappling hook towards the stone giant but instead going for Cinderblock, the wire suddenly was covered in dark energy and flew towards the charging green titan.  
Beast Boy realized too late that his last comment set Raven off and the wire wrapped around him and with a flick of her hand, Raven sent him with the aid of her magic towards Cinderblock.  
"I bet you know how to bring him down," Raven smirked, setting off the changeling this time.  
The green teen morphed into a T-Rex, snapping the wire and collided with Cinderblock and sending him tumbling through some rides.  
The T-Rex managed to land on his feet and turned around and let out an angry but victorious roar towards the half-demon, causing her hood to fly off.  
"I'm…impressed," Raven said indifferently. The T-Rex vanished and was replaced with a steaming shape-shifter.  
"I've had it with your jokes, Raven," he said angrily, stepping over to her.  
"Weren't you the one to crack the jokes?" she retorted, not moving from her spot as Beast Boy stepped in front of her.  
"At least I don't hurt people with my jokes," Beast Boy retorted back.  
"Yeah, but you hurt them physically," she said and was taken by surprise when he grabbed her cloak, pulling her close to his face.  
"You haven't seen my other side yet," he growled but Raven remained unfazed.  
"If this is what your good side is, then I don't even want to know what your bad side looks like," Raven said sarcastically.  
Her hands glowed dark when her eyes widened in surprise.  
Beast Boy saw her confused look and looked back of him to see Cinderblock standing over them, his foot looming closer as he was about to crush them.  
A green ball of energy shot him in the back, successfully distracting him as he looked back. And a blue beam shot at him, causing him to topple over.  
The half-demon and changeling jumped out of the way, as Cinderblock fell onto his back.  
A net suddenly fell from above, preventing the stone giant from getting up and Robin joined Raven and Beast Boy.  
"What were you doing?" he asked angrily.  
"That was her fault," Beast Boy protested before Raven told her point of view.  
"He attacked me without any warning."  
"You tied me up!" the changeling shouted.  
"Because you wouldn't stop making fun of me," she replied in a calmly manner.  
"So? You do that all the time. But when I want to turn the tables, suddenly you have hurt feelings?" he cried in disbelief.  
"Stop!" Robin interrupted, causing both to look at him. "You both made a mistake! What if Starfire didn't shoot Cinderblock, huh? Then you both would be kissing the ground."  
"She started it! If she didn't-"  
"Maybe…it's better if we just forget about this, ok? Just try to fight together, not each other," Robin replied and turned away. "You talk like that's not what I had intended from the start," Raven said as Starfire and Cyborg joined her.  
"Why won't you just listen to me for once?" Beast Boy shouted and Robin turned back to him with a confused look.  
"I told you that you both put all of us at risk. What's there more to talk about?"  
"Then why do I have the feeling you just seem to be talking to me?" "Because…you decided to drag this on after Raven stopped," Robin said and Beast Boy looked at his leader in disbelief.  
Beast Boy walked past his leader and Raven took a step forward before she was stopped by Robin.  
"Let him go! I think you wouldn't really want to walk back home with him after what happened with you two," Robin said, looking at Raven.  
"You just read my mind," Raven replied in a monotone.  
"So should we take Mr. Stone Age back to jail?" Cyborg asked, pointing back at the struggling Cinderblock.  
Their leader gave them an approving nod.  
Meanwhile Beast Boy was flying in hawk form towards Titan Tower, passing crossroads, homes and trees.  
Why did Robin think that everything seemed to be his fault?  
Why didn't he believe that Terra was alive – that she couldn't remember him?  
The thought of the blonde-haired girl caused him to stop in his tracks, landing onto the sidewalk.  
His sharp eyes took in his surrounding – where was he?  
What time was it?  
His eyes spotted a digital clock in a jewelry store to his right.  
11:30.  
He still had time. So Beast Boy took off and flew into the air again and after a few confusing rounds through streets and alleyways, he was flying in familiar terrain again and in a few moments landed on a tree branch across from Terra's school.  
He morphed back and jumped off after seeing that the yard was empty.  
He proceeded to enter the building and it was just as empty as the yard and soon Beast Boy found himself standing in front of Terra's classroom, stealing a look through the window pane.  
But it was empty.  
Where was she?  
Should he wait until she came back?  
No, he couldn't stand the ticking of the clock and continued his search for the blonde-haired beauty.  
He had only taken a few steps when suddenly the bell rang and classroom doors sprang open as a variety of teens rushed out. "Hey, watch it!" he said angrily after one of the students had pushed him out of the way to get to his friends. "They just remind me of a herd of sheep," he mumbled as he got out of the way of another one that hurried to get to the yard.  
His eyes widened in surprise when he saw a door open in the distance and Terra's friends walked out of it.  
But where was Terra?  
He rushed to the door and peeked inside.  
His heart sped up, seeing Terra's back facing him. And he immediately searched his mind for ways of convincing her to come back.  
But what could he try?  
What could he say?  
What…did he have to do to make her want to come back?  
Terra looked into the mirror and the shape-shifter quickly took cover behind the open door.  
But his determination wavered for a moment when seeing Terra's smile inside the mirror and he realized that the last time he saw her smiling like that…was when she had sacrificed herself.  
Ever since her restoration…she seemed always…troubled like she was hiding something. She turned around and swung her bag over her shoulder and went out of the door and Beast Boy made sure she didn't see him by morphing into a fly.  
"And was he there?"  
Beast Boy morphed back, still behind the door.  
"No! And I haven't seen him the whole day," Terra murmured with a lowered head.  
"So, could it be he has finally given up?" her red-haired friend wondered aloud and Beast Boy realized that they were talking about him before he felt a tap on his shoulder.  
But he didn't turn around in fear of missing out on the conversation.  
Tezumi stepped in his field of vision with a confused expression on her face.  
But right now Terra was more important than Tezumi. And the next words broke a large part of his being.  
"I hope he did," Terra said in a low voice and Beast Boy turned away but the shock of those words was still visible in his expression.  
So all this time…his pursuit of Terra was…for nothing?  
Were…his friends right?  
Did Terra really change – did she never want to see him again?  
And the silence behind him only confirmed his doubts and he hung his head in sadness and closed his eyes that threatened to spill tears.  
"Beast Boy-kun?" the Asian girl in front of him murmured, seeing the sad expression on his face. "Daijobu…desu ka?" she asked confused.  
But the shock of Terra's words had paralyzed him.  
Only when he felt gentle arms wrap around his shoulders, did he feel some of his senses come back to life and he opened his eyes. A blush crept onto his face, realizing that Tezumi had just hugged him.  
"Doshimashita ka?" she said in a low voice – a voice that showed concern, still holding him close.  
But right now he didn't feel like talking.  
He didn't know why…but right now he just wanted her to keep hugging him.  



	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Secret His eyes shut again, wishing that he was dreaming all of this.  
"Because I don't want…to see him hurt," he heard Terra say and his eyes snapped open.  
Did he hear right?  
Could Terra…still be saved?  
He moved out of Tezumi's embrace and stared after Terra who continued to walk down the hallway while talking to her friends.  
A smile formed on his face and he almost wanted to hug the girl next to him.  
He knew she didn't forget him!  
Tezumi looked at him in confusion at the sudden change of expression before she saw that he dashed away.  
And this time, she was the one that felt disappointed.  
Meanwhile 4 Titans arrived back at the Tower thanks to the T-Car. And Raven immediately noticed that something wasn't right.  
It was too quiet.  
"Don't tell me Beast Boy went into my room again. If he touched any of my books this time, I'll make sure he'll vanish forever," Raven mumbled under her breath.  
"Do not worry, Raven. I am sure that he is just resting from our fight with Cinderblock," Starfire assured the half-demon.  
The 4 Titans passed his room and they stopped.  
"I am not sure if it is safe to disturb him yet. Maybe he is still trying to do 'the cooling off'," Starfire said worriedly.  
"I don't think his room would be where he would cool off. He usually just plays some games on the Gamestation," Cyborg said.  
"Let's check then," Robin said and opened his door.  
And just as guessed, except for some dirty laundry in the corner of his room, there was nothing else to find.  
"I wonder what we have to do to anger him enough so he washes his laundry," Raven murmured, lifting the smelly clothing with her dark magic. "Let's see if he's in the common room," Robin suggested and all agreed.  
Raven made a quick stop in the bathroom to throw the dirty clothing into the washing machine.  
"Is it just me or is the common room too quiet for BB to be in there?" Cyborg asked.  
"And what do we do if he is not in the common room?" Starfire asked, her worry once again surfacing.  
"We'll…make him see what will happen if he decides to disobey orders," Robin said in a low voice.  
They arrived at the door of said room and Robin stepped in front.  
"So you mean…you will use force on him?" Raven asked and Robin turned to look at her.  
"We have to see about that."  
Robin took another step forward and the door slid open and they stepped inside the hall, carefully looking around.  
But the shape-shifter was nowhere in sight.  
"I guess he won't leave us any other choice," Robin murmured.  
"What do we do now?" Starfire asked but Robin didn't turn around.  
"Make him forget," the leader answered and surprised stares were directed at those words.  
Only Raven didn't believe her leader. "You can't," she replied and Robin turned to face her.  
"So you think that it's ok for him to abandon us for…Terra?" he retorted with a hint of anger.  
"Of course not! But what…if that's what he wants?"  
Robin looked at the half-demon in surprise.  
"What…if we're too late…to change his mind?" Raven murmured but Robin remained silent, his eyes glued to the Gamestation lying in front of the TV. "What… if he is convinced that if he kept pursuing this girl, she might want to come back to us – come back to being Terra again."  
"It won't come to that," Robin growled, obviously angry that Beast Boy abandoned his team for yet, another time.  
The Boy Wonder passed Raven with quick strides, heading for his room.  
"Give me some time."  
Raven's words made him stop in his tracks.  
"I know he's hiding something. I feel that something is not right. Just give me some time so I can find out what causes him to act like this and I will bring him…back to the way he used to be," Raven said, not believing her own words.  
"Fine…but if he decides to ignore us again…"  
Raven had an uneasy feeling, seeing his hands clenched to fists. But Robin continued his walk without another word and Raven felt a sudden surge of determination flooding through her.  
"And I will find more about this girl. She won't be a secret for long," Raven murmured as if to herself.  
"Girl? What girl are you talking about, Rae?" Cyborg asked but was dumbfounded to see her walking past them. "Thanks for making that clear," he mumbled sarcastically.  
The sound of the bell echoed through the hall and Beast Boy realized he had to speed up his pace if he wanted to have the chance to talk to her.  
Terra's blonde hair swayed from side to side as she approached her classroom. Her two friends waved goodbye as they headed to the principal's office and Terra walked the rest of the way by herself.  
But she heard the tapping of footsteps somewhere behind her – a few teens were still walking back to class but it was the speed of the footsteps that made her nervous.  
Like something chased her.  
She turned around…but except for a couple, nobody was there. So she slowly turned back and resumed her walk.  
And it didn't take long for the footsteps to follow her again and this time, she spun around suddenly.  
"Who's there?" she asked shakily.  
But the hallways stood empty.  
"I'm starting to…see things," she murmured and turned away.  
And that's when she screamed, almost tripping as she took a step back.  
"Sorry if I scared you. I just wanted-"  
"You gave me a heart attack" Terra shouted angrily, getting over her initial shock. "Why are you still here, Beast Boy?"  
He smiled nervously, trying to find words that would hopefully calm her down. "I just wanted to talk."  
"I'm late for class."  
Terra passed him with quick steps but he held her back as he took her wrist. Her eyes opened in confusion but switched to annoyance when she faced him.  
"Did you lie?" he asked, his face fixed in an expression between hope and seriousness.  
Her expression didn't change.  
"Did you lie when you told your friends…that you didn't want to see me hurt?" he asked, his expression losing some of his seriousness and gaining some of its hope.  
Terra's expression turned to surprise and the shape-shifter smiled at her.  
"So is that a 'yes'?"  
Terra closed her eyes. "You will only hurt yourself," she murmured and pulled out of his grasp and hurried back to her class as Beast Boy looked after her in disappointment and sadness.  
But it seemed…that Terra still cared for him.  
And that was why he would keep going after her.  
He followed her to her classroom and sneaked a peek from the glass pane and saw that she was busy scribbling notes into her notebook and he found himself staring a bit longer than he was supposed to before she gave him a stern look and a young woman with black hair passed her desk, probably her teacher. The changeling dropped to the floor, deciding to wait for Terra to finish with her class. He didn't have anything better to do anyways.  
Meanwhile Raven arrived in front of the school and sighed. "Let's hope he is still in there," she mumbled and entered the building.  
The hallways stood empty…only a door was swinging gently to her right and Raven approached it.  
She felt a presence inside.  
Her hand lifted towards the handle but she stopped, hearing…snoring sounds. Raven turned around and found that the sound came from around the corner.  
She turned said corner and saw a figure sitting next to a door, leaning against the wall. "I should have guessed," Raven murmured, seeing that Beast Boy was snoring with an open mouth.  
Her hands glowed dark before Beast Boy was covered in dark energy and started to float after Raven as she made her way out of the school.  
A dark-haired girl stepped out of the bathroom after Raven passed it and her eyes lingered on the floating shape-shifter.  
Beast Boy let out a long and loud yawn after getting his deserved nap. "That was the best nap I had in days. I wonder if her class is done," the shape-shifter mumbled while stretching.  
"She's done alright. It's three in the afternoon."  
Beast Boy shot up at Raven's voice. "W-what are you doing here, Raven?"  
"I'm here to talk," she replied.  
"Huh? Why am I in my room? Where's the school? Where's Terra?" he wondered, looking around in confusion.  
"And that's exactly what I want to talk about," Raven said and Beast Boy looked at her in confusion before his expression hardened. "You…brought me here?"  
"Only because…you're taking all this stuff with Terra too seriously."  
"Seriously? So you want to tell me that you're not happy that she's back?"  
"How do you know…that she's Terra?" Raven asked, lowering her gaze as memories of the rock user flashed before her eyes.  
"Because…she said she didn't want to hurt me," he murmured and Raven looked up when hearing this.  
"Doesn't that prove…that she wants you to forget her?"  
"No! That only proves that she cares…about us."  
"Beast Boy…if you don't stop following that girl who obviously doesn't want to see you again…then Robin…"Raven started but stopped, not knowing what would happen if he found out.  
Beast Boy's expression turned to anger, hearing that Robin once again tried to force him to choose between Terra and his team. "Robin what?" he said in a low voice.  
But Raven herself didn't know the answer. "Who was she?" she murmured after a short moment of silence.  
"Terra, our teammate," he replied.  
"No! I mean…that other girl. When you went after Terra, you bumped into an Asian girl. Who is she?"  
Beast Boy looked in confusion at her until he remembered said girl. "She's a friend."  
"A friend? And why is that?" she asked before the changeling's expression turned serious once again. "She tries to help me. She respects my decision to save Terra from a life she doesn't want," Beast Boy said, his voice rising slightly.  
"Terra is right, Beast Boy. If you keep following her, you will only hurt yourself…and that girl is only helping you with that," Raven said but Beast Boy refused to listen to her.  
"That's the way you see things. Or did Robin tell you to spread lies so you can keep me locked up in the Tower?" Beast Boy shouted angrily.  
"Be quiet! Robin might hear you…and if he knows that you won't listen…then…something will happen to you. And I can guarantee you that you won't like it." "I know you just try to keep me away from Terra but now that you try to keep me away from Tezumi too…I'm wondering who my real friends really are," Beast Boy growled, jumped from his bed and went out of his room in silent anger. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Date After that conversation, Raven decided to keep distance to the angered shape-shifter, knowing too well how you can feel when the emotions get the best of you.  
And she thought that it was better this way for the rest of the team.  
The sky was still dark and a cool breeze blew over the school yard the next morning as Beast Boy entered the building.  
After the argument last night, the changeling went up to the roof, knowing that none of his other team members would be there under direct sunlight and simply stared into the horizon.  
He stared as his thoughts gradually returned back to happier, past days, eventually putting a light smile on his face and removing his anger. And his smile stayed in his expression, at times not visible but it was still there and that was because his friends understood his need for some space.  
The hallways were only illuminated by the florescent lights on the ceiling and his footsteps echoed through the empty hallway. He turned the corner when his eyes widened in surprise. Two familiar girls faced him and immediately grimaced when they saw him. "What do you want again?" the red-head said.  
"I thought you knew better to leave her alone," the black-haired girl joined in with a nasty stare.  
But today, Beast Boy wasn't intimidated. "Where is Terra?"  
"She told you to leave her alone, didn't she? So why are you looking for her?" the red-head spat.  
"Where is she?" the changeling repeated in a more serious tone.  
"You can see she's not with us," the black-haired girl said this time.  
"Answer my question!" he shouted angrily, making the girls take a step back.  
"We don't know, okay?" they said at the same time. "And if you know what's best for you, then you better just turn around and leave." The girls passed him with quick strides but since they didn't know where she was, he didn't follow or try to stop them.  
So he continued his way until he reached Terra's classroom and took a look through the window pane but except for some books on the teacher's desk, there was nothing else to find.  
His head dropped in disappointment and he wondered if he had come too early. His eyes went over to the wall opposite of the door.  
It was 7:20 and Beast Boy gave out a sigh.  
When would she be here?  
Beast Boy suddenly smirked, wondering if that was how Robin would be obsessing over Slade but then shook his thought away.  
Beast Boy wasn't obsessing over her – he just cared.  
He heard footsteps approaching him and he looked up – only for a brunette to walk past him, a book clutched in her arms.  
"You're taking this thing with Terra too seriously."  
He frowned as Raven's words made their way into his head and another girl passed him.  
But her blonde hair was too short to be Terra's. "Something bad will happen."  
The shape-shifter wondered if Raven had managed to put him under a spell while he was asleep as her taunt kept reeling inside his head and watched another dark-haired girl pass him. His eyes shifted to the clock after a while.  
7:30.  
"Does time always pass this slowly in school?" he groaned and stood up, not able to take the ticking of the clock any longer.  
He walked aimlessly through the hallway, as students slowly filled the hallway and tried to literally get a clear head.  
"Don't you see she wants to forget you?"  
"Where in this horrible place can I get a clear head?" he shouted angrily, trying to force Raven's voice out of his head.  
"Try the library, genius," a passing girl mocked before she and her friend giggled after they had passed the shape-shifter.  
Beast Boy muttered curses under his breath as he searched for said place and after a while, stopped in front of a double door. "Let's hope this is it," he mumbled and entered.  
Rows of an infinite variety of books faced him while in the corner of the hall stood a few tables and his eyes rested on a girl with her head stuck in a leather-covered book.  
He approached the table and sat across from her, suddenly feeling nervous. "Do…I know you?" he murmured so the girl would look up from her book.  
"No!" the girl said curtly.  
"Can we talk?" the changeling said, hearing Terra's voice replying to him.  
"I have nothing to say to you!"  
"But…you didn't answer me yet," Beast Boy persisted and blue eyes stared back from behind her book.  
Terra closed her eyes when she laid eyes on Beast Boy's serious face. "Answer you?" she asked.  
"You know –about the lie."  
"Shhh!"  
Both flinched and Terra looked back of her, seeing the librarian giving them a stern look before her eyes went back to the shelves she was checking.  
"I told you that following me…will only hurt you," she replied with a hint of annoyance.  
"I don't care!"  
Terra looked at the shape-shifter in surprise. "I just want an answer – an honest one," Beast Boy said louder this time, reflecting his seriousness.  
"I…" Terra began before she felt a tap on her shoulder.  
An angry grey-haired librarian stood before her. "Young lady, if you would like to talk, the exit is there," she said sternly and pointed to the door.  
"I-I'm sorry. I was just leaving," Terra stammered and the lady turned away.  
The blonde girl stood up and turned to the door.  
A hand stopped her.  
"Tell me! At least outside," Beast Boy pleaded and for one moment Terra almost felt sorry for him.  
"I…" she started but stepped back when the librarian gave another stern look at her. "Maybe…later, ok?" she murmured, looking to the side before she moved out of his grasp and hurried out of the library.  
"And when is 'later'?" he called but the girl was already too far away for her to hear.  
He turned back to see the librarian giving another cold stare at him before she turned away and the changeling rested his head tiredly onto the cool wooden table. Why did she look so nervous?  
Why couldn't she even look him in the eyes anymore?  
"Why are you always running?" Beast Boy asked the former Titan.  
"Doshita?"  
Beast Boy's head snapped up at the familiar yet strange language. A girl sat next to him, her head covered by a book that seemed to be about pets since the cover had a dog and a cat on it. "Do I know you?" he asked, strangely hoping for a specific girl to be hidden behind that book.  
Giggling emerged from the book, the person obviously happy about the 'hide and seek' they played.  
"Tezumi?" Beast Boy murmured unsurely.  
The book lowered slowly and the dark-haired girl smiled brightly at him.  
"Hai!" she exclaimed and her small eyes seemed to be laughing with her.  
And a small smile formed on his face, seeing her happy at least.  
"Doshimshita ka, Beast Boy-kun?" Tezumi asked and said green Titan looked at her in confusion.  
"You don't know how I wish I'd understand anything you're saying. Why do you go to school if you can't even speak English?" he asked, raising a confused eyebrow.  
"Uh…Terra," she said, knowing that he would explain himself as soon as she said Terra's name.  
"Oh, I just…wanted to talk to her and asked her to go outside with me…but I don't think she wants to even…see me," Beast Boy murmured, his eyes on his hands on the table.  
"Nani?" she asked, raising a confused eyebrow of her own.  
"You know – asking someone out," he continued and his voice filled with nervousness.  
"Uh…"  
"You know…like a…date – don't tell me you don't know what a date is," Beast Boy said and felt himself blushing.  
"Oh!" the girl exclaimed and looked at him expectantly. "Deto?" she said in her Japanese accent.  
"Yeah, date…"  
An awkward silence fell over the library and the shape-shifter wondered why he felt so nervous around a stranger – no, a friend.  
"Well…it wasn't really a date. I just wanted to take her somewhere to talk to her…but…I think she's too busy to be with me," he murmured, his voice filled with the same sadness when she found him with. "Gomen," she murmured, knowing by his expression that he was sad about something.  
"Me too…whatever you said," he replied and chuckled, realizing that he could have agreed on her calling him names in Japanese.  
She giggled when hearing him laugh and he found himself liking when she giggled like that.  
"Shhh!"  
They stopped and were faced with a looming, angry librarian and Tezumi took Beast Boy by surprise when she took hold of his hand and dragged him out of the library.  
And he liked being dragged around by her.  
"Wait!" Beast Boy stopped in front of the entrance of the school, making her stop too. "Don't you have class?"  
"Nani?"  
"Class," he emphasized and pointed back to the long hallway before she looked in surprise.  
"Oh," she exclaimed and a smirk played on her lips before Beast Boy's communicator beeped.  
He took it out and looked at Tezumi questionably.  
She gave him an approving nod and he activated it.  
The face of Robin appeared on the screen. "Beast Boy! Meet us at the Park! It's the HIVE students again!"  
"And what do they want in a Park? Take a walk?" the shape-shifter asked and Robin shook his head.  
"We'll find out when we captured them. For now, they have escaped with what seems like expensive and valuable jewelry. Just don't be late," the leader said and the screen turned black.  
"When was I ever late?" Beast Boy muttered under his breath and Tezumi looked at him in confusion. "Duty calls."  
She cocked her head doubtfully.  
"I'll talk to you later," he smiled but her head remained in that position. "You know - 'talk'," he said and made a moving 'beak' with his hand.  
"Deto?" she asked and Beast Boy blushed embarrassed.  
"Not a date…just talk," he shouted almost and she giggled again.  
"Wakarimashta," she said and smiled apologetically at him.  
"I…guess I'll see you then," Beast Boy said reluctantly and opened the door.  
"Ja ne, Beast Boy," she said before said Titan dashed out of the door.  



	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Connection 5 Titans were on their way back home after they had defeated the HIVE students and brought them to jail. Seeing the shape-shifter almost skipping on the side-walk intrigued Raven and she walked up to him.  
"May I ask why you're all 'sunshine' now?"  
"What?" he asked, slowing his walk to fall in step with her.  
"Did…something good happen at school? I mean with Terra," she said, both falling behind the rest of the team.  
"Oh." Raven saw that his small smile vanished instantly and she regretted asking him that question.  
"Not…really," he mumbled and the half-demon put a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
"Beast Boy-"  
"I don't want to talk about it," he said and quickened his pace as the dark girl looked after him in worry. The rest of the walk was quiet until they reached home and only when Starfire surprised them with one of her 'extraordinary' Tamaranian dishes, did the silence in Beast Boy finally shatter.  
"What…is that thing?" he asked pointing almost shakily at the dark blue rectangular piece of what seemed to look like jelly.  
"Oh, something that is equivalent to earthly 'meat'. It's called-"  
"I'm steering clear of anything close to Cyborg's stomach-upsetting obsession," Beast Boy interrupted as Cyborg shot him an angry glare. "Scratch that! I'm steering clear of anything…extraterrestrial actually."  
Beast Boy walked into the kitchen as the others kept their eyes on his back, secretly happy that his mood seemed to have improved since last week. "Is it me, or does it really feel like we're being watched?" Beast Boy murmured, taking some tofu out of the fridge.  
The others looked down, not wanting to upset their friend before they watched from the corner of their eyes as he dropped onto the couch and turned on the Gamestation.  
After a few games, Beast Boy somehow managed to slip into a nap and Cyborg placed a blanket on his best friend after he was left behind and had just finished with washing the dishes. The half-robot left the room with a small smile on his face.  
"Terra!"  
The blonde girl turned around as her friends called for her. "Wait up!" the red-head gasped.  
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry. You know how much homework our teacher bombarded us with, right?" Terra giggled slightly.  
"Please don't remind me," the black-haired girl replied this time. "Did that green dude come looking for you?"  
Terra looked in surprise at her friends.  
"I guess that's a 'yes'."  
"I…managed to get him off my case…somehow," the ex-titan murmured, remembering his sad expression.  
They were walking on the side-walk, Terra's friends struggling to keep up with her pace after school let out.  
"And he didn't wait for you at the gates for you to finish with class?" the dark-haired girl asked.  
"No."  
"That's weird. Do you think he gave up…finally?"  
Terra lowered her gaze.  
She knew that he wouldn't really give up trying to bring her back on the team. "Maybe. Or maybe something came up."  
"I don't know. But I think…something is up with him – something strange," her other friend murmured.  
"What's not up with him?" the dark-haired girl said before Terra sped up her walk, trying to get away from anything that would remind her of Beast Boy.  
"I guess, we'll see you later," they said unsurely in unison. "Take care."  
"Yeah," she replied and waved without even turning back at them.  
Her friends turned away before they bumped lightly against a girl. "S-sorry," the dark-skinned girl mumbled.  
"Gomen," came the reply before a dark-haired girl shoved past them.  
Terra's friends looked at each other in confusion.  
Ringing sound woke the shape-shifter and he groggily made his way towards the mainframe computer and turned it on.  
His eyes widened in surprise and for a moment he just stared open-mouthed at the screen before he dashed towards the entrance.  
The doors opened and he let out an involuntary squeal as his eyes took in the blonde hair and the blue eyes.  
"We need to talk."  
"What?" he mumbled, not hearing what she said since he was just too happy to hear her voice.  
"Someone's been following me."  
"What?" Beast Boy snapped out of his trance as soon as he heard that sentence.  
Terra stepped inside, nervously glancing around. "Are…the others here?"  
"Guys! See who's here! I told you that I was right. Guys?"  
But the Tower remained still.  
"And I know what that someone wants."  
"Slow down, Terra! So who is following you again?" Beast Boy asked confused.  
Terra moved a bit closer before she stepped aside.  
Beast Boy stared in horror at the figure standing in front of him.  
"What do you want from Terra?" the shape-shifter shouted angrily at the masked man – at Slade.  
Slade pointed a thermal blaster at the shape-shifter and fired at him before he could morph his way out of firing range.  
Beast Boy flew backwards before he landed painfully onto his back and struggled to get up to see Terra's hands glowing yellow. "W-what do you want?"  
"I told you to stay away. But you wouldn't listen," Terra said, her eyes downcast.  
"I knew he wants to get back at you. But I won't let him!" Beast Boy said and slowly managed to get onto his knees before Terra's voice stopped him.  
"He wants you, Beast Boy!"  
Said Titan clenched his teeth angrily at the masked man as the roof of the tower slowly ripped apart and hovered above the changeling.  
Slade's eye narrowed. "Sayonara…"  
Beast Boy gaped at the masked villain, recognizing that language and feminine voice at once. "Tezumi?"  
The roof dropped upon him.  
His head snapped up and realized that he was still on the couch where he dozed off. He turned away from the TV and found himself face to face with Raven who was looming over him.  
"What are you doing?" he asked confused.  
"Checking on you," she replied, crossing her arms. "Nightmares?"  
He frowned, as the images replayed in his head. "I'm not sure…unless you decided to mess with my head again," he said and Raven turned away from him.  
"If you don't appreciate my help then just say it."  
Beast Boy stood up and passed her.  
"Where are you going?" the half-demon asked.  
"Somewhere I can clear my head," she heard him reply and saw that he was heading out of the tower.  
"Do you have your communicator at least?"  
He lifted his hand, showing the yellow device without even turning back to her. "I don't have a good feeling about this," she mumbled.  
Beast Boy flew into the air as soon as he stepped out of the T-shaped building and his sharp hawk eyes tried to spot a good place for some solitude.  
But where could that be?  
For several minutes, he flew from one part of the city to the next.  
The dance club? No, too loud.  
The park? No, too noisy.  
The library? Too many books.  
And then his eyes spotted another area – an area that caused old memories to resurface. He dropped in front of the building and read the neon-lighted sign: 'Ben's café'  
With a sigh, he entered the coffee shop and dropped himself onto a stool by the counter.  
"I just take the usual," he mumbled and the woman left to prepare his order.  
Beast Boy looked into the mirror, his tired expression looking back at him. And his mind drifted off to the night of his first date – to his date with Terra and he smiled despite feeling even sadder.  
He pulled out his communicator to make sure it was on and his eyes rested on the 'T' on the device – 'T' like Terra – 'T' like Titan.  
"Terra, you will always be a Titan," he mumbled before the lady returned with a plate of creamy pie.  
His mouth watered and he eagerly picked up his fork, already tasting it, only thinking about it.  
"Itadakimasu!"  
Beast Boy stopped his fork as it went for the pie on his plate and slowly looked to his right.  
Tezumi looked back before she smiled at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief.  
"Tezumi," he said surprised when he saw the girl sitting next to him, still in her school clothes.  
"Nandesuka?" she asked and pointed to his plate.  
His eyes went to his cake. "Hm? You mean the pie? That's really good stuff. You wanna try some?" he asked and she looked at him with a tilted head.  
"Nandesuka?" she repeated and Beast Boy ordered another pie for her as well.  
"It's pie!" he said, guessing she still wanted to know what it was. "It's really good!" he said and rubbed his stomach.  
The school girl stared at him before she broke out in laughter, causing the shape-shifter to shift his view to his pie in embarrassment. "At least I can make some people laugh," he said almost bitterly and Tezumi immediately stopped her laughing and looked at him in worry.  
"G-gomenasai, Beast Boy-kun," she mumbled.  
"You know, sometimes I wish I was like Cyborg. I could use my technology to figure out what you're saying…and do pretty much most other stuff technology can do," he smiled and Tezumi managed a small smile of her own.  
He looked at her and that warm feeling in his body returned.  
Tezumi made a beak with her hand and muttered something in Japanese.  
"Are you mocking me?" he said, crossing his arms and pretending to be hurt.  
"Beast Boy…deto," she muttered and his face heated up.  
"We are so not on a date. Oh…" he muttered, realizing what she meant with 'date' and burst out laughing before she laughed with him. And he stopped when she placed her hand on his, the heat returning to his face.  
He looked back to her face, her smile not faltering and realized that ever since he met her, she managed to keep his spirits up – even better than his friends.  
The woman returned with Tezumi's pie and placed it on the counter.  
The girl in front of the changeling tightened her grip on his hand, not willing to end this moment just yet.  
And as she held his gaze with her dark eyes, Beast Boy realized something.  
Even if they didn't understand each other's language, he knew that they had a connection.  
And he liked it.  



	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Blind trust Beast Boy broke out of his thoughts when Tezumi turned to her pie and lifted her fork.  
"Itadakimasu!" she beamed and dug her fork into the dessert and Beast Boy watched her shove a rather large piece into her mouth.  
Her eyes sparkled like two chocolate covered stars. "Mmh, sugoi," she cried in ecstasy and Beast Boy looked dumbfounded at her as she finished her cake in mere seconds.  
"W-wow, you eat even faster than Starfire finishes a bottle of mustard – and that's something," Beast Boy mumbled and started with his own pie.  
He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Tezumi longingly stared at her plate. "You…want seconds?" he asked and the look of confusion returned to her face. "You want another pie?" he asked, pointing to his plate with his half-eaten sugary pastry.  
She nodded vehemently and he suppressed chuckling at her before he ordered another one.  
"I guess you now know what 'pie' is," Beast Boy said, stressing the word 'pie'.  
She nodded lightly. "Wakarimashta. Sugoi desu," she said, her mouth already watering again.  
"I know, right?" Beast Boy said, knowing whatever she said, it had to be something good about the dessert by the way she ate almost like an animal.  
The lady returned with Tezumi's second pie and like with her first one, she finished the dessert in the blink of an eye.  
"You know, if Raven or Starfire ate like that, I'd probably have a sick stomach just watching them."  
"Nani?" she asked, not understanding what he said.  
"Never mind," he smiled and paid for the desserts. "That was a nice 'talk'. I wouldn't mind doing something like that again," the shape-shifter mumbled, trying to swallow his embarrassment.  
Beast Boy stood up and he felt a hand on his arm.  
"Matte kudasai," Tezumi mumbled.  
"What's wrong?"  
She gently shook her head before she patted his seat.  
"I really can't take another pie. Neither my stomach nor my budget can take it," he said, scratching his head nervously.  
"Iie, Beast Boy."  
"Then what is it?" he asked, seeing that she shook her head again.  
She sighed before she stood up. "Ikimashou!" she smiled and took his hand and pulled him out of the coffee shop.  
They stopped outside and Tezumi pointed in front of her.  
"So what do you want again?"  
"Deto!"  
"But didn't we do the talking already?"  
"Iie. Deto," she repeated and slowly Beast Boy knew what she wanted and the heat to his face returned twice as strong.  
"So you want to see Jump City, huh?"  
Tezumi smiled, wondering if he understood her implication.  
"I guess I wouldn't really like being watched by a half-demon anyway. Alright, you got yourself a tour. Where do you want to go first?" he asked but only received a confused look from the girl. "You know what, just trust me and I'll make sure you'll have fun," he grinned at her and suddenly he remembered his date with Terra.  
And tonight…he might enjoy himself again too.  
They walked through the streets as a gentle evening breeze brushed through trees and bushes. And the shape-shifter realized that only couples seemed to wander in the streets and he glanced at her hand that was only a hairsbreadth away from his.  
"Nandesuka, Beast Boy?" she asked and Beast Boy turned back to the street.  
"N-nothing. Oh, how about this place?" he asked and they stopped in front of the dance club.  
She looked unsurely at the sign. "Shirimasen," she mumbled but the changeling wasn't impressed.  
"Come on! It's fun and I really want to see some of your moves," he beamed and dragged her into the building of blaring music and blinding lights.  
Tezumi narrowed her eyes, trying to adjust to the glaring lights in the dark hall.  
The dance floor was filled with teens and Tezumi reluctantly tried to stay behind but the changeling wouldn't let her and dragged her to the middle of the dance floor.  
"Now let me see what you got," Beast Boy shouted over the loud music but Tezumi didn't bother to reply.  
She kept her eyes on the people around her and she crossed her arms, not liking to be in such crowded places – she wanted to be alone.  
And loud beats from the overhead speakers and the pink and blue lights that flashed through the hall made her feel edgy.  
Tezumi turned back to the shape-shifter but closed her mouth before she managed to get a word out when she saw that he had already started dancing to the blaring music. "Come on!" Beast Boy encouraged her. "Just one dance and then we'll ditch this place, ok?" he said, lifting one finger while still swaying from side to side.  
Tezumi remained silent but after he made no move to stop dancing, she reluctantly joined him, swaying lightly while tapping her foot. "That's all you can do?" the changeling taunted.  
Tezumi frowned at the grinning shape-shifter and swayed her arms as well before she did a turn, causing her skirt to fly up for a moment.  
Beast Boy found himself grinning at her but Tezumi didn't see him since she was dancing with her eyes closed when suddenly she bumped into something hard from behind.  
"Oh," the girl exclaimed before a rather large hulk turned to face her.  
"Watch where you're dancing! Next time I won't give you a warning," the large teen bellowed and Tezumi frowned at his apparent impoliteness.  
"Baka," she muttered under her breath.  
"What was that? Say it once more and I'll make you choke your words," the hulk shouted and lifted a fist.  
The Asian girl narrowed her eyes at him before she poked out her tongue at him.  
Beast Boy pulled her back. "How about we just forget about this? I really don't want to see why he looks this big," he said worriedly and turned away with her.  
"Don't tell me you chickened out? You better run back to your mommy and I don't want to see your faces here again," the hulk shouted angrily and Beast Boy was starting to get annoyed.  
"Don't act like you own this place," the changeling said and turned to face the angered teen, only to see a fist flying his way.  
In the blink of an eye, he was pulled back and he stared in awe as Tezumi easily caught the flying fist in her palm.  
"Damare!" she muttered before with apparent ease, she threw him over her shoulder.  
Beast Boy jumped back before the giant teen fell to the floor. "I didn't know a girl like you…can lift dudes as big as elephants. Do you do workout often?" he asked in admiration.  
Without another word, Tezumi pulled the shape-shifter out of the club and away from the crowd of stares.  
"Okay, I guess we have to skip dancing. Let's see what the next stop is," Beast Boy said and they continued their stroll through the city.  
Tezumi was silent for a long while and Beast Boy saw that her eyes kept going left and right and once she had stopped by an alley and looked like she expected someone.  
But she quickly resumed her walk when an elderly man and woman came out of the alley.  
"Are you waiting for someone?" the changeling asked carefully and Tezumi looked at him in confusion. "I mean are you looking for a friend?" he asked, secretly hoping that it wasn't like that.  
Tezumi glanced over his shoulder before she cried out and pointed behind him. "Kanran-sha!"  
The Titan looked behind him in confusion.  
And his eyes opened wide when he saw a colorful Ferris Wheel blinking brightly in the distance. "Oh, you mean the Ferris Wheel?" he asked and once again his thoughts drifted back to Terra and a blush crept on his face, remembering what they almost did on that same ride.  
And suddenly he wondered if Tezumi wanted to go there for the same reason but he shook his thought away.  
They barely understood each other!  
He turned back to Tezumi and she nodded at him and he felt his heart speed up. "Next stop, the Theme Park," he grinned at her.  
It didn't take them long to arrive at said place and Tezumi dragged the shape-shifter impatiently from one ride to the next.  
First they went on the bumper cars, Tezumi even managing to throw Beast Boy out of his car since he refused to use the safety belt. Next, they went on the roller coaster ride and Tezumi laughed every time they would speed down a slope. Then, they took some photos in the photo booth and Tezumi soon joined the shape-shifter in making funny faces but always managed to stay close to him, once even casually wrapping one of her arms around his waist.  
But, of course he didn't mind.  
And last, they went on the Ferris Wheel and once again did the shape-shifter see the rock user in his mind.  
And he wondered if Raven had been right – did he take Terra too seriously?  
Was Terra right about him getting hurt?  
He did feel sad after all, sitting in the same ride where he almost shared his first kiss with his first crush.  
And Slade managed to get inside his head once again, his sadness giving rise to anger.  
"Doshimashta ka?"  
Tezumi's voice broke him out of his thoughts and he saw that she glanced at his clenched hands in worry.  
"I…just remembered something. Nothing serious though," he laughed nervously before he felt her hands on his, realizing that she had moved closer to him.  
His hands relaxed and Slade's image faded into the background as her warmth seeped through his gloves.  
And the warmth spread through his body like ripples in a pond.  
"You know, I was here once. I was with someone I really liked…and I know she liked me too…but someone managed to make her…hate me and my friends but she turned on him in the end and sacrificed herself. But when she came back…she said she didn't remember me or anything that happened to her. And that someone – Slade – managed to come back…and I don't know what he did to her but he told me to stay away from her."  
Tezumi looked at him in confusion.  
"I was here with Terra," he murmured and pointed to the seat they were sitting on and understanding crossed her face. "And I asked her why she agreed to come out with me and she said she wanted to spend time with me."  
He looked up at her and smiled. "And I wonder if that was your reason you wanted to come out on this date," he said and looked questioningly at her.  
There was a short moment of silence as they looked at each other.  
"I guess I should remind myself not to talk too much," he laughed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Just forget-"  
"Daikirai," she murmured and the shape-shifter saw a smirk play on her lips.  
"Could you repeat that?" Beast Boy asked, hoping he would understand the meaning once she said it again.  
Tezumi remained silent and leaned closer to him and suddenly his heartbeat doubled in pace, realizing what was about to happen.  
The shape-shifter leaned in as well before closing his eyes, feeling her grip tightening on his hands.  
And this time he wouldn't let anything stop him!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Isolation The space between the shape-shifter and the Asian decreased as they leaned into each other.  
And just before they made contact, Tezumi stopped abruptly, seeing someone observing them from the ground – a hooded figure.  
And she knew that she saw the stranger before!  
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the figure on the ground before she resumed where she stopped.  
But she wasn't going for his face.  
"O tomodachi ni wakare o tsugemasu!" Tezumi whispered inside the shape-shifter's ear and his eyes snapped open when he felt her lips brush against his ear.  
"So…you like my ears?" the changeling murmured before he fist pumped the air in victory. "I knew it! Girls love elf ears."  
"Arigatou," Tezumi smiled and Beast Boy felt a bit disappointed that his wish hasn't been fulfilled.  
And in one quick motion, Tezumi pecked his cheek before they arrived back at the ground, seeing his sad expression.  
A smile spread over Beast Boy. "I guess, that's a good start," he said and both got off the Ferris Wheel and Beast Boy let out a yawn and the Asian girl giggled at him.  
She pointed to the direction of the entrance to the Theme Park, Japanese words escaping her mouth that Beast Boy couldn't understand.  
"But that's the way we came from. So you…want to go somewhere else?" Beast Boy guessed before once again, the Asian pulled the shape-shifter on his hand towards her destination.  
And the changeling tightened his grip on the hand, earning a smile from the girl.  
Tezumi leaned against him somewhere during their walk, surprising the shape-shifter but not bothering him in the least before he realized that they were walking in familiar terrain.  
"Hey, that's the way to Terra's school. You know it's in the middle of the night, right?"  
Tezumi looked over her shoulder before she asked a question of her own. "Doko ni sunde imasu ka?"  
"Uh, are you asking if you can go to school?" he asked, pointing to the yard of Murakami High School.  
Tezumi arched an eyebrow before she formed a triangle with her hands and after a short while, Beast Boy realized that it was supposed to be a roof.  
"Are you talking about homes?" he asked and made the same shape with his hands and she nodded reluctantly. "I would wish myself inside the HIVE academy if school was supposed to be my home."  
And suddenly Robin's image flashed across his mind.  
Raven said Robin might be doing something horrible if Beast Boy would be acting on his own.  
Tezumi looked at him expectantly.  
But he acted on his own when he decided to trust Terra when she became Slade's apprentice and she saved their lives!  
So why would Tezumi be any different – after all she was just a normal girl?  
"Let me show you where heroes live," he smirked before he morphed into a winged dinosaur. And Tezumi's eyes sparked with mischief and a smile spread on her face. "Anata wa…"  
Beast Boy impatiently flapped his wings and Tezumi got onto the dinosaur after getting the hint.  
He took off with particular ease and it didn't take long for them to be high up in the air and even less to find the familiar letter-shaped building.  
"Nandesu ka?" the girl wondered aloud and the changeling lowered her to the parking lot that was overlooking the sea.  
He morphed back with a smile on his face and pointed towards the sea. "That's where I live."  
Tezumi narrowed her eyes before she pointed to the large, lone tower standing in the middle of a sea of blue. Was that where he lived?  
In that…silver platter?  
"Cool, isn't it?" Beast Boy bragged, grinning like he had just won the lottery.  
"Beast Boy..."  
The word's low voice caught him by surprise and he turned towards the girl…only for her to fall into his arms, causing him almost to trip over by the impact.  
"W-what was that for?" he asked in surprise and the girl wrapped her arms around him.  
He did the same after getting over his initial shock, fearing that if he wouldn't, then Tezumi would get the wrong message and leave him.  
Just like Terra…  
"Sayonara," she whispered in his ear, her eyes trained on the Tower in the distance.  
Beast Boy's eyes widened and suddenly he had the feeling that they were being watched.  
Was Slade back?  
Was he after the shape-shifter?  
"Slade…" he muttered in hatred.  
Tezumi stepped away from him and gave him a small wave but the changeling didn't want to let her go yet and took her hand, surprising the girl.  
"Be careful."  
She stared in confusion at his serious expression before she smirked at him.  
A sudden noise startled them and they looked up.  
On a tree branch not far from them, sat a crow cawing into the night before it spread its winds and gliding into the sky - towards the island in the endless sea.  
Tezumi moved out of his grasp, holding his almost longing gaze for a moment before she turned away, walking through the parking lot towards home.  
Beast Boy watched her until he couldn't see her anymore and turned around and dashed towards the blue sea before morphing into a hawk and taking into the air, eager to get some sleep.  
Eager for the next moment he would share with her.  
Beast Boy sneaked through the dark hallways and reached his room.  
"Beast Boy…"  
The changeling froze and slowly turned around and was faced with the sleepy sight of his leader.  
"Where were you?" he asked in a mixture of confusion and suspicion.  
Did he know he had been out the whole night?  
"I…uh…was thirsty and just drank some water."  
"I came from the kitchen," the leader replied and crossed his arms, suspicion taking over.  
"I…uh had to use the bathroom after that," he said, avoiding eye-contact.  
"And you forgot to flush…or turn on the light?" Robin said, narrowing his eyes.  
"Come on, Robin! I was in the Tower if that's what you're worried about!"  
"You were?" he asked challengingly.  
"Get off my case!" Beast Boy cried tiredly, his eyelids begging for some rest.  
Robin frowned and took a step forward. "Not until you tell me where you were," Robin shouted and the changeling felt heat run through his head.  
Why was Robin always…so demanding over him?  
"I told you-"  
"He was here."  
Both boys turned around and Raven stepped over to them.  
"Raven?" Beast Boy muttered in surprise.  
"I saw him," Raven continued as if she hadn't been interrupted.  
"Where?" Robin asked.  
"Here."  
"Could you give a more descriptive definition of 'here', Raven?" Robin asked, tilting his head and Raven realized that Robin also wanted to know why she wasn't in her room. She closed her eyes. "He was on the roof. I found him when I went there to meditate."  
Robin glanced at Beast Boy who froze as soon as their eyes met. "And what were you doing there…"  
"I was-"  
"He's been-"  
"…Beast Boy?" Robin stressed, signaling for Raven to be quiet.  
"I was just…thinking about…someone," the changeling murmured.  
"And about who?" Robin asked and his low tone suggested that this information was sensitive to him.  
"About Te-"  
"About Terra. He had a nightmare about her but I talked to him."  
Beast Boy's gaze fell onto the half-demon while Robin glanced his way.  
"And I told him what would happen if he thought about…that girl too much. But he learned not to let his feelings get the better of him, right?" Raven asked and held his attention with a deep stare.  
"Y-yeah," he murmured and lowered his head before he heard Robin's voice speak in a more relaxed manner.  
"Glad to know that Beast Boy's back to normal then. Now get some rest."  
Robin turned away and walked to his room and Raven floated up to Beast Boy when Robin disappeared into his room.  
"Don't let things turn into more than just 'talk'," Raven said seriously before she floated to her room, leaving Beast Boy with that recurring feeling of mistrust by his door. Raven didn't just stick up for him – she had outright warned him!  
But there was nothing to be warned about, was there?  
Beast Boy was about to fall into sleep when blaring alarms filled the tower and the changeling wished himself inside Terra's school, knowing he would get sleep there at this hour.  
"Titans, trouble!" Robin yelled and they dashed out of the Tower.  
"What crime is happening at this hour?" Starfire asked, floating her way through the silent streets.  
"There has been an explosion in Jump City Prison! And I bet the guests are all more than eager to use the situation to escape," Robin explained.  
"Couldn't they wait until tomorrow to break out?" Beast Boy asked and yawned loudly.  
"Could you use some brain to answer your question?" Cyborg asked and Beast Boy shot him a glare.  
"Titans, here they come," Robin said and the others saw several inmates already scattering on the street as a building in the distance stood aflame.  
"Raven, take care of the fire! Cyborg and Starfire, capture the fleeing villains! I will see who started this ruckus." Robin turned to look at Beast Boy, who impatiently stepped from one foot to the other, trying to fight his sleepiness. "And Beast Boy…" Robin said and saw his tired expression look back at him, "…try to focus!" he said, turning to the escaping inmates and the changeling frowned.  
"Titans, go!"  
The group scattered, each occupied with their task. Beast Boy, however turned back when he had morphed into a wolf, hearing movement behind him. All he could see was a shadow turning the corner and the wolf gave chase on the sidewalk until he reached an alley and the shadow was nowhere in sight.  
The dark and narrow alley ended in a dead end and Beast Boy morphed back.  
"Where did he go?" he wondered aloud, looking at the wall that stretched high above him and knew no regular villain could climb it.  
He sighed, literally having reached a dead-end before he turned around, deciding to join his team.  
And a fist came flying towards his face and he ducked in the last minute, before morphing into a goat. With a high leap, the horns collided with the man's face, sending him flying onto his back and knocking him out cold.  
"I've still got plenty of focus," Beast Boy smirked, silently challenging Robin before he went to capture the next villain.  
And as if answering Beast Boy's challenge, the changeling's communicator began to give off a signal, blinking brightly.  



	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Ignorance The dark Titan Tower received its first rays of sunlight the next morning and a rested shape-shifter stretched cat-like on the floor before grabbing some breakfast and rushing outside.  
After Beast Boy had rejoined his team, Robin ranted once again about trust and responsibility after he failed to reach him on his communicator when two inmates almost managed to slip through his fingers.  
But now that he thought about it, maybe the tension was caused after the changeling said that he probably forgot it back at the Tower.  
Or maybe Robin still felt that Beast Boy wasn't trustworthy if he kept his thoughts busy with Terra.  
The changeling arrived at the school with a frown on his face and almost stomped through the hallway. "Calm down. Robin is nothing to get worked up about," Beast Boy murmured and simply saying this eased his anger and he found himself smiling.  
He passed Terra's class and he sneaked a peek through the window pane…but it was empty. Yet…he didn't feel as disappointed as he did just a week ago.  
Was…he probably moving on?  
He shook his head as if answering his own question.  
He would never move on!  
The shape-shifter continued his stroll until he came to the library.  
Could she be here?  
The green teen entered the world of books, his eyes roaming over every corner before it stopped on a book with a hunting rifle displayed on it.  
He stepped closer to the hidden figure, Raven's words from last night reeling in his mind. "Terra?" he murmured unsurely, not sure if she could stand seeing him anymore, even less wanted to.  
"Dareda ka wakarimasu ka?" came from behind the book.  
Beast Boy slowly smiled, not even caring right now what she said – he was happy enough to hear that strange language from her. "Tezumi…"  
The book lowered and Tezumi saw Beast Boy sitting across from her and she smiled.  
"What's shakin'?" he asked and she cocked her head confused while muttering something under her breath. "You know, I wondered…if we could…'talk' today again. But this time, how about we do it in Titans Tower?" Beast Boy asked carefully, avoiding eye-contact. He made sure to use his hands as much as possible so she would understand and after a minute or so, she nodded in understanding. "Iie," she muttered curtly and Beast Boy's face fell, knowing from her hard expression that she had probably declined his offer.  
"Why? Is the tower not 'fun' enough? Can I at least show you around before we do something else?" Beast Boy almost cried in protest but tried to show that he could take bad news.  
The Asian gently shook her head. "Kyo wa setsumei shimasen."  
"So does that mean you changed your mind?" Beast Boy asked while slowly nodding his head.  
She sighed, placing her book on the table. "Watashi wa kon'ya kari tsumoridesu," she stated matter-of-factly and Beast Boy's hopeful expression faded into grimness.  
Tezumi smiled slowly, causing him to look at her in confusion and she took his hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. "Shinpaishinaidekudasai! Watashi wa, anata ga hyoji sa remasu."  
He smiled back at her. "I have no idea what you just said."  
This time, the dark-haired girl looked in confusion. "Nan to iimashita ka?"  
Beast Boy joined in her confused expression and shrugged his shoulders and she understood…that he didn't understand something – either her or himself. Thinking this, she burst out laughing and the shape-shifter soon joined her.  
And as she glanced over his shoulder, her eyes narrowed suddenly when catching sight of someone at the doorway. A blonde-haired girl stood awkwardly to the side of the doorway, as if not sure if she should enter the library. Her blue eyes looked in surprise…and shock at them before her gaze lowered.  
Beast Boy looked at Tezumi in worry, realizing that she stopped laughing. His laughter died as well, seeing her…serious expression and he looked over his shoulder.  
But all he could find was an empty doorway.  
He turned back to her and he was received with a warm smile. "So…could we do something…tomorrow or maybe another day?" Beast Boy asked, his eyes on her hands that were still on his. He looked up to see her shrug her shoulders before she gave him an…almost annoyed expression.  
She muttered something before she gave out a sigh and Beast Boy stood up and returned shortly with a calendar in his hand. "What about tomorrow?" he asked and pointed to the date one day from today.  
And he felt heat rise to his face when he saw her smirk at him and her eyes gain that playful glint in them. "Anata ga shinu mae ni, watashitachiha otagai ga hyoji sa remasu."  
He waited expectantly for a translation and she gave him a nod, causing him to squeal happily. "Sweet!" Realizing that he said that aloud, he blushed in embarrassment and looked to the side.  
Her smirk turned to a grin.  
What an idiot!  
Tezumi stood up, surprising the shape-shifter. "You got class?" he asked and pointed to the door of the library and guessing the meaning, Tezumi nodded.  
"See ya tomorrow!" Beast Boy waved brightly and the Asian hurried out of the library.  
Meanwhile 4 heroes had finished with Breakfast and had gathered in the common room for some TV (except Raven who was reading a book in the kitchen). "Please let us see some of the 'romantic movies'," Starfire asked for the 3rd time.  
"No! This time I'll choose a movie! And I say Sci-Fi is what's cooking right now," Cyborg said, waving his movie wildly in front of the alien princess.  
"I refuse to watch something that is of no value to life and only displays excessive violence," Starfire protested.  
"No value!? If there is something that has got no value, it's clichéd romance and something we call violence is girls scratching each other's eyes out over a guy too oblivious for his own good," Cyborg retorted.  
In the kitchen, Raven rolled her eyes at their argument.  
"Has anyone seen Beast Boy?" the voice of their leader broke in.  
"Check the bathroom," Raven murmured.  
"I did – in fact I've been looking for him all over now…but I can't find him."  
"Maybe you got to look for him in places where he would normally not go?" Cyborg suggested and soon Robin found himself standing in front of the training room.  
But something caught his attention – something he didn't like at all.  
Suddenly red lights filled the Tower and Robin's team rushed to the mainframe computer. And as Robin's eyes took in the virtual map of Titan Tower, his anger increased and he pulled out his Titan communicator, trying to reach a certain green Titan once more.  
But like before, there was no answer.  
"What is bothering you?" Starfire asked.  
And before Robin could answer, Beast Boy came rushing towards them. "Which bad guy should we send to jail town this time?" he grinned.  
"How about the ones that managed to get inside the Tower? Robin said angrily and the changeling frowned at his tone.  
"Dude! Did you get up on the wrong foot or something?"  
"How about you tell me why you're not answering your communicator?"  
"Because I forgot it here."  
Robin called once again and Starfire and Cyborg tried to find the location of the yellow device – but there was no blinking of light and no beeping sound.  
"Maybe…I dropped it somewhere…" Beast Boy muttered under his breath.  
"Can you now tell me why our security system is shut off?" the Boy Wonder asked, his voice rising slightly.  
"What? How should I know that?"  
"Easy. Tell me where you were yesterday night," Robin asked angrily and glanced at Raven afterwards.  
"I told you…I was on the roof!"  
"Maybe I should ask it this way: 'With whom were you yesterday?'" Robin asked, his eyes narrowing.  
Anger boiled beneath the shape-shifter.  
This was personal stuff and Robin had no right to stuff his nose into his business!  
"I tell you with who I was – with someone who gives me more respect than you do!" Beast Boy shouted.  
"Beast Boy, I will make you-"  
"It's Red X!"  
Starfire's voice broke through the tension and Robin turned towards the T-Car.  
"Starfire's…right! Let's focus on Red X. All except you, Beast Boy!"  
"What?"  
"It's your fault that we don't have security so you'll be looking out for the Tower until we come back."  
"My fault!? I haven't—"  
"Don't make me do something that I'll regret later on," Robin said before he walked through the hallway followed by Starfire and Cyborg.  
Beast Boy stared at him in disbelief, Raven giving him an apologetic look before she also turned away.  
The shape-shifter heard the T-Car speeding out of the garage and walked to the common room, venting his anger for over an hour on the Gamestation.  
"My fault? So someone managed to get access to all codes and stuff and suddenly it's my fault!? And that only because I went out with someone!?" Beast Boy cried, smashing the buttons harder than before.  
But the Gamestation managed to cool some of his anger and he made himself a big tofu sandwich. After that he watched some TV, at times wondering who his friends might be facing.  
Evening slowly set in and the rest of his anger suddenly made him sleepy and he curled up on his bed and it didn't take long for sleep to set in.  
The rooms and hallways grew dark as evening transcended into night.  
Footsteps echoed through the hallways and Beast Boy's sensitive ears picked up the sound and he turned onto his side. His door slid open and Beast Boy's eyes slowly fluttered open, his eyesight still distorted and blurred.  
"Robin? Can you come back later? I still feel beat from our superhero spree last night," he mumbled, turning to his other side and closing his eyes again.  
But the footsteps continued until they were almost next to him and they were followed by whispered words muttered into his ear.  
"Hoshoko suru jikan…"  
Beast Boy's eyes snapped open. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: First Blood Beast Boy's head shot up at the language that he was getting familiar with only to see someone standing over him. Unfortunately, it was too dark in his room for him to see anything except dark outlines.  
But he saw enough to see that the figure apparently raised his arm and the shape-shifter felt that something was not right.  
He jumped off his bed just in time to see his pillow and blanket being slashed open, hearing the fabric tearing easily as if it was paper.  
"Dude! That was the coziest pillow I've ever slept on!" Beast Boy complained and the figure moved to face him, hunched on its legs.  
"Konkai wa sore ga anata no kao ni narimasu," the voice spoke and Beast Boy's eyes opened wide, hearing that the voice sounded somehow familiar.  
"Is that you, Tezumi?"  
The figure jumped off the bed and once again lunged at the changeling who ducked, evading the hand that had been aimed for his face. The other hand joined the first and Beast Boy jumped to the side but the stranger was surprisingly quick, and with a graceful turn, sent his foot into the chest of the young titan and he tumbled against his wall.  
"If that's your idea…of 'fun' then let me tell you that some people don't find this funny at all," the green teen groaned and got back up, in time to jump away from another kick that collided with his wall and caused it to crack from the impact. "You just woke up the wrong person," Beast Boy said as the figure charged yet again.  
The green teen morphed into a mouse and scurried away from the stranger who turned around, seeing his victim disappear right in front of his eyes.  
"Anata ga…jissai ni wa hotondo hontoni kawaideshita. Amarini mo warui watashi wa anata o tabete imasu," the figure spoke and followed the scurrying mouse.  
Beast Boy zigzagged across his room, trying to form a plan in his head – too bad he wasn't good with that under pressure.  
The mouse turned around, deciding to be replaced with something to be used for offence. And that's when he felt himself being lifted by his tail before he was lowered – and he didn't want to know where that was.  
The mouse suddenly gained weight as it was replaced by an elephant that dropped onto the stranger. That should teach him a lesson!  
But to his horror, he levitated slowly from the ground and saw that the figure was apparently lifting him and with a strained grunt, threw him towards the opposite wall.  
Beast Boy evaded collision by turning into a dove and perched onto his upper shelf.  
The shadow of the stranger was slender and slim, indicating a rather small frame and the changeling was surprised how someone so small could lift an elephant.  
His attention was caught when the shadow moved again, jumping onto the shelf while Beast Boy flew into the air, evading only narrowly.  
But he didn't get far when a hand slammed against him, causing him to plummet onto the ground. With a skillful backflip, the figure was already on the ground and approaching him – like a predator stalking its prey.  
The dove vanished and in its place stood a rhino breathing heavily through its nose once before it charged.  
Using only one hand, the shadowed figure managed to stop the enraged animal who continued to struggle relentlessly against him. The figure wrapped his other hand on the horn as well and lifted the now surprised shape-shifter before swinging him away in a half-circle, causing it to hit the wall. The rhino morphed into a cheetah and managed to get out of the way of another attack before turning around and slamming into the shadow that had already aimed another attack at him.  
The figure felt small under him and Beast Boy wondered which villain had decided to outright break into Titan Tower. Whoever it was…he had to make sure that this wouldn't repeat itself – not until the security was back online.  
The cheetah leaned closer, growling menacingly and Beast Boy hoped that the villain would get the message and get out of his home.  
But instead of stammering and cries of fear, he heard giggling under him.  
"Modoru anata no keji, neko ni," the figure said in a low voice before feet shot up, colliding painfully with his belly and he was flying against the wall.  
It was bad enough that it was too dark to see who he was up against but now he began to see double and he wondered if he even could defend himself. Beast Boy slowly got up to his feet, the ominous villain already facing him.  
"I'd really like to know why you want to rob me of my beauty sleep. We can always fight in the morning," Beast Boy shouted angrily.  
The figure raised his hand but this time, Beast Boy didn't waste time and sent his fist into the stranger's face, only for him to grab it.  
A smirk crossed the changeling's face before he morphed into a snake, slithering closer to the stranger, having already wrapped himself around the arm.  
A look of surprise crossed the villain, still not visible to the shape-shifter however before the snake opened its wide mouth, revealing dangerous fangs.  
And before being bitten, the shadowed figure grabbed the snake by the neck and roughly pulled him off before flinging him away.  
The attacker quickly charged at the snake, deciding to simply cut it to pieces before a gorilla replaced it and managed to take hold of the outstretched hand.  
With a powerful swing, the shadow was swung through his door and the villain collided with the wall of the hallway. The green gorilla slowly approached the dark figure that didn't move to get up.  
But who was he?  
"Time to see who is going to jail tonight," Beast Boy said and turned away, approaching the light switch of his room and he hoped he could get back to sleep fast. His eyes made out the outlines of the switch and moved to turn it on…only to hear footsteps and when he turned around, a hand swiped across his face, sending him against the wall right next to the switch.  
A shadow loomed over him and Beast Boy traced his face that still hurt and he felt long scratches on his cheek.  
"What did you do to my face?" Beast Boy shouted angrily, checking his whole face for more of them. "How can I face Tezumi now? Or Terra?"  
A smirk played across the stranger's lips before she murmured with a hint of malice: "Hontoni sono yo na watashi wa anata no kao ni miemasu."  
"Who are you?" Beast Boy asked, trying to make out the face of that familiar voice. "You sound…like Tezumi."  
A chuckle escaped the figure's throat before lifting the shape-shifter on his clothes. Beast Boy swung a fist at him but with a slight tilt of the head, evaded the attack before slamming the young Titan against the wall, temporarily knocking the air out of him.  
"Watashi wa kono shunkan no tame ni nagai jikan o matte imashita," the stranger murmured, tracing lightly across his cheek.  
The shape-shifter felt long nails tracing his cheek and wondered which villain had such a trait. His gaze fell to the light switch next to him.  
Could he reach it?  
His thought was interrupted when he felt a slender hand on his neck and he turned to face the attacker…only to receive a kiss.  
He was torn between being disgusted and embarrassed, not knowing if it was a male or female…or what was kissing him.  
And suddenly he felt the grip on his neck become tighter and he realized that he was still in deep trouble. But the shadowy figure suddenly pulled away when footsteps echoed through the hallway. "Beast Boy?"  
It was Robin.  
The shape-shifter didn't care to reply, his eyes trained on the retreating figure before he gave chase. And with a big, cat-like leap, the shadow jumped out of his window.  
Beast Boy looked out of the window…but the stranger was gone.  
Whoever that was…it was someone dangerous and apparently he had something against Beast Boy.  
The next morning, Beast Boy didn't dare to look into the mirror, not wanting to see the ugly gash on his beautiful face and he even thought of staying in his room until the red line would disappear.  
But hunger was against it.  
So he had his breakfast with a lowered head and he was glad that he was such an early bird nowadays, not having to face the rest of his team again.  
But what would Tezumi think of him when she saw his face distorted like that?  
Yet, he didn't want to stay and answer more questions of Robin asking him who that stranger was, how he managed to get in the Tower, and why he hadn't contacted them.  
But what he hated the most was the hint of disappointment in his leader's voice – like he thought that Beast Boy couldn't defend himself from one villain.  
After Breakfast, Beast Boy flew out of the window of his room, deciding that he much rather be with someone who understood him.  
It didn't take long for him to walk through the hallway before coming to a stop in front of Terra's classroom. But somehow…he didn't want to see if she was there. Maybe it was because he feared that she would probably never want to talk to him already – if that was even possible. He turned away, his eyes on the clock.  
7:00.  
And as if on cue, a yawn escaped his mouth, the toll of the fight last night still fresh.  
So he decided to go to the library instead. The hallways were empty, his footsteps his only companion and he wondered if the library was even open. And then he passed a room that was slightly open and his interest got sparked again upon realizing that he just passed the girls' locker room, secretly wishing that Terra was there.  
So he sneaked a peek through the small space of the open door.  
But instead of seeing blonde hair, he saw brown. The girl looked up and surprise crossed her face that was visible from the mirror. She turned around and smiled. "Beast Boy-kun," she said and the changeling behind the door blushed, having been caught peeping.  
He was lucky that she still had her school clothes on or otherwise he knew he would go back to the tower with some nasty bruises.  
And speaking of bruises, reminded him of another reason of why he didn't want to be caught peeping. He stepped back, deciding to come back later only for the door to open more and Tezumi looked at him in anticipation and happiness.  
"Anata no kao…" she murmured and Beast Boy knew she meant his face and covered it with his hand. Tezumi pulled his hand away, pulling him inside the room while doing so.  
"That's the wrong locker room," Beast Boy said nervously, hoping that nobody else would come in, and wanting to leave as soon as possible.  
But the hand on his cheek stopped him. Tezumi glanced at the red line that ran across his cheek and lightly traced it, earning a slight flinch from the shape-shifter.  
But her index finger somehow felt soothing at the same time.  
"Watashi wa sono hyojo ga daisukidesu," the dark-haired girl purred and leaned into his face.  
The shape-shifter felt heat rise to his face, almost making the gash hurt again and he closed his eyes, leaning in as well.  
Right now, he didn't care about anything in the world.  
Their lips met and the girl wrapped her arms around his neck and he did the same around her waist. And suddenly he felt silly for thinking that that stranger last night could have been Tezumi.  
He tried to move away but Tezumi refused to stop just now, one of her hands running slowly through his hair while the other hand traced the gash once again almost teasingly.  
And he knew that she was too trustworthy to ever want to harm him and decided to force all interrupting thoughts into the background.  



	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Hate The shape-shifter managed to pull away when her hand temporarily left his hair and he was pleased to see a look of…disappointment cross her face.  
He had nothing better to do now anyways and since he was sure that his friends were still asleep, he wondered if he should comply with her silent wish.  
After all, he wouldn't mind spending a bit more time with her.  
And with surprising strength and speed, Beast Boy was shoved against the wall of the locker room and was faced with dark, mischievous eyes and a dangerous smirk before the Asian moved closer, making sure to prevent the shape-shifter from escaping her.  
"Playing games now, are we? You know, I'm always up for games," he smirked, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively but remembering that she probably didn't understand slang, even less normal talk. The dark-haired girl leaned closer, her cocky expression not leaving her face. "Watashitachi wa sakuya chudan shita basho no ga shuryo shite mimashou," Tezumi whispered, making sure to graze her teeth along his ear so he would get the message.  
She felt him shiver and she moved to admire her work but was surprised to see him grin at her in return.  
"You just took the words out of my mouth," he purred and she realized that she had to make him understand another way.  
Good that he seemed to like what was coming to him.  
Meanwhile Robin and Cyborg stood by the mainframe computer, finally finishing with restoring the Tower's security.  
"Now to make a communicator for Beast Boy," Robin said, going one last time over all security alarms using the virtual map of their Tower.  
"Done that already," Cyborg grinned and revealed yellow device to his leader who looked in surprise.  
"When did you-"  
"Last night when you were all sleeping like little babies."  
"Now all we have to do is give it to him."  
"On it."  
"No, let me do it," Robin said, taking the device from the surprised teen before walking towards Beast Boy's room.  
The door slid open and all Robin could do was stare –stare at the empty room of his hyperactive teammate. Raven caught his shocked expression when she passed him to get to the kitchen.  
"What is it? Are still clothes from last week lying around? Or have cockroaches eaten his left-overs again?" she mocked half-heartedly.  
"I guess your time is up, Raven. Not even you could talk him out of it," Robin said, narrowing his eyes angrily before Raven stepped up to his room and fear and anger cruised through her when seeing the bed empty.  
She turned to her leader and using her dark magic, let the communicator fly into her hands before she floated out of his room after opening his window.  
Robin frowned after the half-demon.  
It was 7:20 and a few teens were already walking through the hallways but the girls' locker room was still isolated from the rest of the school.  
Ideal for what was about to happen and the shape-shifter waited in anticipation for the girl in front of him to make the first move.  
But for a moment, nothing moved and Beast Boy sneaked a peek at the girl. She hadn't moved and he decided to take charge by pulling her closer by the waist. "You didn't strike me as the shy type," he murmured.  
He was taken by surprise when she placed a slender finger against his lips to silence him.  
"Shh!"  
So she wasn't shy after all. The shape-shifter leaned closer, signaling for her to start.  
And she started…by letting a fist flying his way.  
He ducked before her fist collided with the wall, causing a crack to form and the shape-shifter stared in utter shock at the demolished wall.  
And he realized that this could have been his face. "What is your problem? Did you just try to hit me?" he cried, stepping away from her.  
She giggled at him and he looked at her in confusion. "What's so funny?"  
He saw that she raised her fist again.  
"Shinpaishinidekudasai! Watashi wa sore ga jinsoku ni okonaimasu," she said chuckling. "Wait, are you sparring with me?" he asked and she charged.  
Beast Boy jumped aside, evading another fist and jumped backwards to evade a kick sent for his chest. "I guess that's a 'yes' but don't think I'll go easy on you," he said and charged at the girl, letting a fist fly.  
She ducked and took hold of the wrist and with a strong pull, sent him flying towards the opposite wall.  
He eased collision by turning into a turtle, bouncing off the wall. Tezumi was quick to pick him up and threw him towards the other wall before he morphed into a hummingbird.  
Her eyes darted left and right quickly, following his every move before she charged at the wall and jumped off it to reach higher ground. Her hand slammed against the bird, sending him to the ground and jumped the bird lying on the floor…only for a large dog to jump on her in return, sending her onto the ground while in mid-air.  
The dog was replaced by a boy and he smirked down at her. "I won! Now for the reward," he said and leaned into her face.  
"Baka!" she murmured before her fist collided with his face, sending him against the opposite wall.  
Beast Boy stood up to see her jump him again and he evaded her leg narrowly, coming up behind her. Tezumi spun around, narrowing her eyes before she gasped. She felt something slithering on her leg that had been aimed for him just now and saw a green snake making its way up. "Machigatta ugokki, boi." The girl snatched the snake's head, keeping its mouth closed and forcing to loosen its grip on her.  
With a quick tug, she flung the snake against the wall.  
Beast Boy morphed back, slowly getting up after having hit his head. He looked up just in time to evade a fist and tried to trip her, only for her to jump back and the green teen didn't want to let her have an opening so he charged after her, aiming another punch at her.  
Before he could swing however, her fist collided with his stomach causing him to see stars.  
It was of short duration and his sight returned to normal pretty quickly only to see a foot slamming against his face, sending him colliding with the wall.  
"Ow, talk about…being serious," the shape-shifter groaned, managing to sit up before Tezumi stepped over to him. "You know…you could make a great Titan," he said, trying to catch his breath that had been knocked out of him from the impact.  
She grinned at him triumphantly before lifting him up on his clothes. Her hand formed a claw and the shape-shifter felt nervous.  
"Ok, ok! You won! I give up!" he said and laughed.  
And he stopped suddenly when the dark-haired girl let her hand rest on his cheek, her eyes staring into his. "Go on! Your prize is waiting for you," he murmured, not leaving her gaze, feeling her hand traveling further downwards and stopped when reaching his throat. Her thumb traced small circles on the soft spot on his neck before she whispered words that caused the familiar warmth to spread through his body. "Daikirai…"  
He closed his eyes, remembering the moment on the Ferris Wheel.  
Her thumb stopped her movement and just rested gently on that soft spot.  
"Same with me," he whispered with a smile before he felt that the pressure increased for a moment – if only for a tiny bit.  
And then her hand removed entirely and he opened his eyes to see that she was walking away and opened the door.  
And Beast Boy's face turned as red as a tomato, realizing who stood in the doorway, her hand lifted to open the door.  
The dark-haired girl stopped walking for a moment before she hurried out of the locker room and Beast Boy dashed after her, only for the door to slam closed after being covered in dark energy.  
"Raven? What are you doing here?"  
"I could ask you that," she replied. "And who was she?"  
"Someone you just scared away," Beast Boy said annoyed and his hand moved on the handle before Raven stopped his hand by holding his wrist.  
"Raven, let me go!"  
"No! You have caused enough trouble for today," she replied and Beast Boy narrowed his eyes at her.  
"Trouble?"  
"Talking about trouble – what happened to you?" she asked seeing a few bruises on his face.  
"Why do you want to know? Only to lecture me again like I can't take care of myself?"  
"It was with that girl, right? Listen, Beast Boy! You have to stay away from her!" she said but Beast Boy struggled against her hold before she used her magic to slam him against the wall, holding him in place.  
"Robin knows that you've been going out lately…and let me tell you that he's not pleased."  
"Like I care!"  
"But I do!" Raven shouted angrily and Beast Boy looked at her in confusion. "He was angry – I could feel it. What if he does something that could endanger not only you but the whole team? I just don't want us to fall apart."  
Her eyes lowered and Beast Boy's anger vanished before he saw something floating in the air – a titan communicator.  
Raven released him and the changeling caught the device. "If you care for the team…then come back now," the half-demon murmured and opened the door.  
"I…guess it was my fault," Beast Boy murmured and Raven managed a small smile before the changeling stepped up to her and they walked out of the room.  
Unknown to them, Tezumi watched them from a corner as they left the school, her eyes narrowing at the half-demon.  
The walk back to the tower was silent but both were nonetheless happy that the tension in their team was finally resolved.  
They entered the large letter-shaped tower and Beast Boy tried to make peace, hoping to get on everyone's good side. "Who wants pizza? It's on me!" he shouted but there was no reply. "Guys? How could you turn down Pizza? Ok, I'll do laundry for one week," he called as he walked through the hallways checking every room before he was faced with the door of the common room. "Raven? Did something come up or what?"  
"They would have contacted me if that was so."  
The door slid open and they stepped inside.  
"Guys! Guess who's back?" Beast Boy grinned and walked up to the couch, coming to a stop in front of them. But his cheery attitude faded seeing Starfire and Cyborg's grim expression.  
Robin stood up, catching the changeling's attention.  
"Beast Boy…" Robin's voice was serious.  
"I'm back, really! Look!" Beast Boy revealed the communicator to his leader and smiled.  
Robin walked closer and took the device from his hand, causing confusion to set in. "Now leave," he said curtly.  
Raven and Beast Boy looked at him in shock.  
"W-what?" Beast Boy was taken off guard by that sentence and laughed. "You can't be-"  
"You heard me! Get out!" Robin shouted angrily.  



	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Choice Beast Boy stared in utter disbelief at his leader. "What do you mean 'get out'?"  
Robin turned to face the shape-shifter. "You know too well what I mean."  
Raven stepped closer. "Hold on! What's going on?"  
The Titan leader turned to the half-demon this time, his expression stone hard. "You should know what's going on, Raven."  
"I might have missed out on some details. Mind filling me in?" she asked and looked over to Starfire and Cyborg but their expressions remained depressed. "So you won't talk?"  
Starfire looked up at the half-demon. "Robin…and us have decided to act upon Beast Boy…neglecting the team and the missions we as heroes are supposed to take."  
"And that means?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.  
"That means…Beast Boy…either has to take things serious…or leave the team," Cyborg murmured, not even daring to look up.  
Beast Boy and Raven looked at the half-robot in surprise, not believing that Robin would even consider something like this.  
"And you just agreed to this?" Raven asked angrily but the two Titans on the couch remained silent. "You can't be serious, Robin! Sure, Beast Boy can be immature at times, but that's not a reason to-"  
"Unless he makes a choice," Robin said, causing Beast Boy to narrow his eyes at him.  
He's forcing him to make a choice again!  
Raven placed a hand on her leader's shoulder, trying to make him think things over. "Robin, forcing someone to make a choice is not going to make anything better."  
"But at least he will know where he stands and that is all that this team needs – certainty. If he can't be there to help when we need him…then what is the meaning of 'team'?" "Have you considered 'friendship'?" Raven asked but Robin remained unfazed.  
"Look around you, Raven! Look at the past week and all that's happened to us! If this is how 'friendship' keeps the team together…then our team might…be better off without it," Robin said.  
"How could you say that? Friendship is what brought us together in the first place."  
"Then why is it tearing us apart now?"  
"It's not friendship that tears us apart. It's…that girl," Raven said, walking over to Beast Boy and Robin looked surprised for a moment.  
"A girl that Beast Boy chose over us."  
"I never chose anyone over you! How could you even think that!?" Beast Boy shouted, his hands clenched to fists.  
"Just look at you! We barely see you anymore! You're always hanging around that school and the only time we can spend time with you is when we have enemies to take care of. And whenever you come back from that school, you're either too depressed or too angry to talk to us."  
"But I talked to him and he agreed that he made a mistake," Raven said, trying to change Robin's mind at all costs.  
"And what if he does it again? He caused our security system to be shut down because of his carelessness."  
"No Robin, it was because…of that girl. I've seen Beast Boy talking to her…and she seemed to try to isolate him from us," Raven said and Beast Boy turned to her.  
"What? You got that all wrong, Raven!" he cried but before Raven could answer him, Robin stepped in between.  
"And that's why he has to make a choice. Terra…or us."  
Beast Boy remained silent.  
"Robin, you're misunderstanding something-" Raven tried to reason. "I can't believe you're so caught up in your search for justice…that you forget why you wanted to work in a team in the first place," Beast Boy said sadly. "I guess it was teamwork, right?"  
"And teamwork is what you failed to understand, Beast Boy. And that's why I'll ask you one last time: Terra or us?"  
Beast Boy clenched his teeth angrily, his restrained anger slowly coming loose. "Neither…"  
"'Neither' isn't a choice, Beast Boy," Robin said, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"So you want me to choose now?" the green teen asked carefully, his anger rising steadily.  
"You don't have to choose-"  
"Let him go, Raven," Robin interrupted her and Beast Boy scoffed at what used to be his leader.  
"I would have never expected that from you – from none of you," he said and turned away.  
"Beast Boy! Why won't you say anything?" Raven shouted at the two Titans on the couch.  
"Because we don't want to see him hurt, Raven," Starfire murmured.  
"Hurt? Don't you see that this is just nonsense?" Raven cried in disbelief.  
"It's not nonsense, Raven. Look at him…" Cyborg joined in and Beast Boy glanced at the windowpane, his bruised face reflected in it. "…ever since he went after Terra, he's hurting himself and it gets worse each day."  
"I told you that it's not he that's hurting himself. I told you that it's the girl! I don't know why she's doing this…but from the times I've seen her with him…she seems to try to separate him from us."  
"How many times have you seen her?"  
Raven turned with a surprised look towards Beast Boy. "Does it matter? All that matters is that…she has to get out of your life," Raven said.  
"Trust is something that matters to me and I guess she is more trustworthy than you guys are…if you won't even let me decide for myself," he said, hurt obvious in his voice before he dashed out of the room.  
Her words proved that Raven had been keeping an eye on the shape-shifter but her words of trusting him only if he complied with their decisions caused him to try to distance himself from people who were not worth his trust.  
And he was devastated that it turned out that his own teammates seemed to be those people.  
"Robin…did you realize what you just did?" Raven asked after Beast Boy had run away from the team.  
But Robin turned away from the half-demon.  
"You just managed to break a team apart," she said before she floated out of the common room, Starfire and Cyborg looking after her in worry.  
Beast Boy felt the wind blow against his face as he flew through the city in hawk form, drying a tear that somehow managed to spill. He dropped in front of Terra's school, having no other place he'd rather be.  
He race-walked impatiently through the hallway, his eyes scanning his surrounding as best as he could. He went to Terra's class first, then checked the library and then the locker room.  
But Tezumi was nowhere in sight. "Maybe she's in some other place," Beast Boy wondered aloud and searched the rest of the school, gym and yard included.  
After a bit less than an hour, Beast Boy dropped tiredly onto the stairs to the upper floor and give out a sigh. "She was here today. Where could she have gone in an hour?" the shape-shifter wondered.  
And then a thought struck him and a smile spread on his face before he jumped up, his energy returning to him suddenly.  
And with hope in his heart, he dashed towards the principal's office. He stopped in front of the door and swallowed nervously. Was the principal a scary dude?  
He shook his nervousness from him.  
He had to face that principal if he wanted to see Tezumi.  
The shape-shifter knocked lightly on the door and waited for an answer.  
But there was no answer and he knocked harder this time before a voice urged him inside.  
Unknown to him, a certain half-demon watched him from around the corner and her eyes wandered around, hoping that nobody would be catching her sneaking around in school.  
And her eyes opened wide when catching sight of someone standing opposite of the door of the Principal's office, pretending to read a bulletin board – a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.  
"Are you here to sign up for next year?" the slim man with a thick brown mustache asked, his eyes scanning some papers on his desk.  
"Not really – I mean I've been looking for someone," Beast Boy said nervously, and he cursed himself mentally for being so edgy today.  
The man behind the table arched an eyebrow at the green teen and Beast Boy shifted his glance to his name plate on the desk.  
"Did you get in trouble, my friend?" the man asked and the Titan covered his face before the man smiled at him.  
"No, sir," he mumbled and removed his hand when he received an understanding glance.  
"Who are you looking for?"  
"A friend. She apparently goes to this school and I have seen her today…but when I came back after an hour or so, she wasn't here anymore," Beast Boy explained himself.  
"You know, I can't really give out any sensitive information about students of this school but it is rather strange to hear that," the man said, nodding in understanding.  
"I've been worried about her and I just want to make sure that she's ok," Beast Boy said, his voice rising slightly.  
Could…Slade have taken her?  
If he did…what did he want from her?  
"I understand your concern…but I think a simple phone call to our office would have been sufficient."  
"I-I didn't have your number," Beast Boy mumbled embarrassed.  
"That explains itself…but I have to tell you that wandering through the school won't help you find her except bring you into trouble," the man said sternly.  
Beast Boy lowered his gaze, not wanting to give up on her. "Could you at least please tell me if you have seen her leave the school or where you have seen her last?" Beast Boy cried, not caring anymore if he was almost begging in front of the principal.  
"I'm sorry but I can only tell you if she's in school right now…unless she decided to really leave without permission."  
"Ok, I just want to see if she's alright," he smiled weakly, glad for any information he could get about her.  
"But you have to promise me that you won't come looking for her on school property."  
"You won't see me anywhere near this place, Mr. Murakami," Beast Boy placed a hand on his heart as he read his name plate.  
"Who is the young lady?" the man asked with a smile.  
"She's Tezumi…Miko," Beast Boy thought for the last name a bit. "I can't thank you enough-"  
"Beast Boy," the man said, remembering that in front of him stood one of the city's heroes.  
The green teen looked up hopefully but was faced with a look of confusion.  
"I'm sorry but we have no student registered under that name." 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Doubt Beast Boy's hopeful expression faded, seeing that the principal's expression remained in that state of surprise. "What did you say?" he asked slowly, hoping that he just heard something else.  
"I said that we don't have a student named Tezumi Miko," the man repeated, his eyes on the folder on his table.  
"Are you sure? Maybe you just need to check-"  
"I check all files daily but I haven't seen any information on the girl you just mentioned," Mr. Murakami said, his eyes scanning the paper in front of him. "And right now I'm going over all the students that have been registered since 3 years ago…but there is no Tezumi on this list."  
Beast Boy stared at the man and then shifted his view to the paper on the desk, hoping that his eyes might have more luck.  
"Is there anything else I can help you with?"  
Beast Boy almost didn't hear his question and his head shot up to his face before he replied in a meek voice: "No, sir."  
"If there is any problem, you can talk to me," the man said and smiled but Beast Boy lowered his gaze before he caught the sign of affection.  
"Thank you," he murmured and left the room in defeat.  
So…Tezumi didn't go to this school – then why was she always here?  
Could it be she was here because she had relatives going to this school?  
Then why did she never mention it – or maybe she did and he didn't understand?  
But she was here today and now she isn't – and Beast Boy was sure that something was not right.  
He knew – no, he felt – that Slade had something to do with this…and he knew where he might find Tezumi.  
With newfound hope, Beast Boy dashed out of the large building.  
Meanwhile Terra came out of her hiding place that was in the janitor's closet where she locked herself in after hearing Beast Boy coming out of the principal's office.  
Why was Beast Boy looking for that girl?  
And images of the changeling laughing with that girl in the library only yesterday appeared before her eyes – images of him being perfectly happy without her.  
A sad smile played on her face before she walked along the corridor towards her class.  
She wouldn't intrude in his happiness – after all that was why she distanced herself in the first place.  
"Terra, wait!"  
The blonde-haired girl stopped in her tracks, recognizing that flat tone of voice at once.  
And it surprised her that it wasn't Beast Boy calling her anymore.  
"We need to talk. About…Tezumi."  
The blonde-haired girl sneaked a look at the person talking to her. The figure across from her wore a cloak and had a hood drawn deep into her face. But the shadow of her hood wasn't dark enough to cover the worry in her eyes.  
"What do you want?" she asked curtly, showing that she's only here to listen to their problems, not solve them.  
"I know you and I both had not always a smooth run during the time I've known you…but I know that during that time we both have seen how trustworthy Beast Boy can be," Raven said, not bothering to decrease her distance to the former titan.  
"I don't know what you mean," Terra murmured.  
"I know you want him to be happy, Terra."  
The blonde-haired girl looked at the half-demon in surprise but quickly returned to her questioning expression.  
"But it's his trusting nature that will cause him to get into trouble. Trusting Tezumi…only hurts him."  
"But I have seen him happy with her. Why would I want to try and destroy his happiness?"  
"Because his supposed 'happiness' tears our team apart."  
Terra narrowed her eyes at Raven, painful memories returning to her mind – memories of her apprenticeship with Slade. But she remained silent, not wanting to get too involved in their lives. She wanted to live her own life – a normal life.  
"I know you try to stay away from us…but Tezumi is a threat to our happiness," Raven said, her eyes locked with Terra's.  
"I…really have to go to class…"  
"And I'm sure that she's a threat to yours too, right?" Raven said and Terra's eyes widened in surprise as images of yesterday flashed across her mind – images of her race-walking through the streets after she parted with her friends as quick footsteps echoed behind her. She managed to lose her stalker in the train however and decided to stop by in her favorite coffee shop, but making sure that Beast Boy wasn't there.  
But she barely touched her cake when she felt that presence again and she stole a glance at the seat to the far right by the counter.  
And her fear returned, seeing an Asian girl sitting by the counter, drinking from a cup of hot chocolate – the girl watching closely from the corner of her eyes. But she was glad that she didn't follow her when she went out. Terra closed her eyes. "And what do you want me to do?"  
Raven smiled at the girl who looked at her in confusion. "You talk to him."  
"Talk?"  
"If you want him to be happy – if you want yourself to be happy – then talk to him," Raven said and turned away.  
"How?" she heard Terra ask as she walked away.  
"The way you can gain his trust."  
The half-demon was surprised to see Robin still in the common room – and she was even more surprised to see that he frowned upon seeing her.  
"What?" she asked bluntly, floating up to her leader.  
"You are free to leave the team as well, Raven," he said in a low voice.  
"No, thank you! I'd rather stick around and help you pick up the pieces of the 'trust' you broke," Raven said, a disappointed glance directed at the titan leader.  
"I didn't break anyone's trust."  
"You know what? You're right! You broke our team!" Raven said, glancing around the room, noticing that Starfire and Cyborg were not present.  
"It wasn't me! It was Beast Boy – because he's too obsessed with Terra!" Robin said, his voice rising.  
"Like you were with Slade?" Raven asked and Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "And Terra might actually be the one who can bring him to his senses."  
"What? You don't really think that, do you?" Robin inquired.  
Raven turned to walk towards her room, tired of explaining why they shouldn't give up on Beast Boy. "You can thank her when he comes back to the team."  
"I don't want him back on the team!" Robin shouted.  
"Do Cyborg and Starfire think the same way? Do you really think the same way?"  
Robin stared wide-eyed at the half-demon, surprised that she would risk being kicked off the team for Beast Boy.  
The half-demon made her way towards her room without another word.  
Meanwhile Beast Boy flew through the city, his sharp eyes looking out for a specific destination – the Theme park. It didn't take long for him to find what he had been looking for, dropping down in front of the gate.  
He rushed past rides, and food stands, Slade's image haunting his mind. What could he possibly want from a normal girl?  
Would her skills be sufficient for him to consider her as his next apprentice?  
He almost cringed, thinking of the possibility, remembering that he had lost Terra with her apprenticeship to him.  
His gaze went to his shoes, remembering the ex-titan. Why did he still remember her?  
Did she remember him even?  
He shook his head, trying to force her image from his head and came to a stop in front of the 'House of Mirrors'. He took a deep breath and rushed inside and soon mirrors lined the hallway, reflecting his running image in endlessly different forms.  
After mere seconds he finally came to a stop in a hall and his eyes took the surrounding in. The mirrors were still cracked, multiplying and distorting his breathless reflection displayed in them. His footsteps echoed through the hallway – light and hollow – just like he felt whenever he was standing here. His foot hit something hard and he looked down and his eyes widened in surprise.  
Under him lied the Slade robot, the red eyes no more glowing as if it had been lying here for months. And as he took in his surrounding once more, he realized that in here…time seemed to stand still. Only if it weren't for that one sentence, repeating in his mind over and over again.  
"You don't have any friends…"  
He took a step back, realizing with horror that his own words repeated in his ears, the reflections mirroring his movement.  
"Was…it my fault?" he murmured as his gaze fell back to the robot under his feet. Was it his fault that Terra refused to remember?  
Was it his fault that his own team doubted him?  
Was it his fault…that Tezumi had disappeared?  
"She doesn't want to see you anymore…"  
Beast Boy spun around; hearing Slade's voice echo through the hall but it was nothing more than a voice. The hall stood silent and empty.  
Was he cracking up?  
Did he…end up worse than Robin?  
No, he wasn't obsessing over Slade…or over Terra!  
His eyes went back to the robot under his feet and he suddenly realized that Tezumi was still missing. "Where is she?" he murmured, wondering if he could get answers from the metallic android under him.  
But of course, the robot remained motionless and as the shape-shifter waited another moment, his patience ran out and Beast Boy let his foot crush its metallic face in.  
How could he find Tezumi?  
Meanwhile red lights filled a certain tower and Robin gathered his teammates around the mainframe computer. Raven was glad that Cyborg and Starfire finally emerged from their rooms, even if it was primarily for the mission.  
She only hoped that her talk with Terra was worth it.  
"…go!"  
"Where?" Raven asked and Robin looked at her in annoyance.  
"Haven't you been listening? Mumbo is robbing a bank again. And I guess it's a good time to call Beast Boy," Robin said, his arms crossed over his chest as Cyborg and Starfire already made their way outside.  
"I thought you didn't want him back?"  
Robin narrowed his eyes at her before he replied. "I only said this because you insisted on it. I still don't want him if he is still all careless."  
"So you do think that he's good for the team – that we need him? But unfortunately, we can't do much for him right now."  
"Then why did you stick up for him so much?"  
"Because I know someone who can," Raven replied, smirking before she also made her way outside the tower.  
Terra rushed outside as her bell rang, not knowing what she should do. She pulled out the yellow titan communicator that Raven had somehow managed to slip into her bag. Memories of the past week flashed before her eyes, as Beast Boy held the device out to her, begging her to come back.  
She clasped her hand around the round object, closing her eyes.  
"I am not a hero," she murmured in sadness. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Unleashed Smashing the Slade replica's head did nothing to ease Beast Boy's anger.  
After all, Tezumi was still missing and Beast Boy shifted his gaze to the cracked mirror in front of him.  
And that sense of hollowness intensified as his bruised face stared back at him.  
Was Tezumi really the one hurting him – or is it he that hurt himself?  
His reflected expression formed a frown as he answered his own question. "Neither."  
Meanwhile a certain blonde-haired girl hurried along the streets with an uneasy feeling. She still couldn't believe that she had been sought out by Raven but she still felt the tension between them and she wasn't sure why she had talked to her in the first place.  
The gates of the Theme Park rose in front of her and Terra stopped for a moment, a flood of memories cruising through her mind, causing a weak smile to appear on her face before she went inside.  
She stopped once more as she reached the 'House of Mirrors', more unpleasant memories seeking her this time and Terra felt her heartbeat increase its pace.  
She had tried so hard to keep away from him and now she was forced to look for him herself – no, she…chose to.  
And he would probably have done the same thing if he knew that someone was persuasive enough to make her isolate herself from her friends willingly – like Slade had done once.  
But she had to make sure…that this was as close as she got to him – and for the last time.  
With hesitant steps, Terra entered the hallway as her reflections imitated her movement.  
"Beast Boy?" she murmured, clutching the yellow device in her hand.  
Terra came up at a hall – a hall filled with cracked mirrors and shards of glass scattered on the floor. The girl slowly made her way to the center as her eyes took in her surrounding.  
What happened here?  
Why was Beast Boy not here?  
The sound of metal caught her attention and she looked down.  
Surrounded by mirror remains lied what seemed to have been a demolished robot and Terra's eyes wandered around in search for the cause of it. Her eyes caught a peculiar object to her right not far from the broken android – and her eyes widened in realization.  
Terra's eyes caught sight of an orange and black mask and she felt fear gripping her – fear for a certain shape-shifter.  
The sudden beeping woke her from her trance and the former Titan looked at the device still clutched in her hand as it began to blink.  
And she realized that if his own team was unable to bring him to his senses…then how could she?  
Terra turned away from the mirrors…before something struck her head hard.  
"Could you reach Beast Boy?" Raven asked as she took in Robin's angry but pensive expression.  
"His…device is shut off."  
That was all Raven needed to hear for her to fall into that thoughtful stage herself.  
Why was the communicator shut off?  
Could it be that Beast Boy didn't receive the device at all?  
Or could it be…?  
Raven jumped up from behind the car as Mumbo's soldiers kept Cyborg and Starfire occupied.  
"What happened?" Robin asked as he jumped aside to avoid a flying car.  
"I know what happened," Raven replied and began to float away.  
"Raven!" she heard her leader shout but right now more important matters were calling her.  
Raven used her magic to make Robin's communicator float out of his pocket without him knowing and she activated it.  
A red dot blinked on the virtual map of Jump City and Raven immediately knew where she was heading. And after a few minutes, she found herself walking through a long, narrow hallway before she came up at a hall.  
"Come out before I have to get you," Raven said, her voice echoing through the hallways.  
But nobody answered her and she walked through the hall, her eyes moving to the yellow communicator in her hand.  
The red dot was still on the screen and Raven's eyes wandered around until she saw a Titan communicator blinking on the ground next to an exact copy of Slade's mask.  
But the owner was nowhere in sight.  
Did…Slade probably attack Beast Boy…or Terra?  
Her thought was answered by a shadow spreading over her and Raven formed a shield, her back still facing the peculiar object approaching her.  
The half-demon heard the clanking of metal before the force sent her onto the ground, the shield managing to take most of the damage before it disappeared. Raven spun around and floated upwards. "Come out…whoever you are!"  
But there was no answer.  
"Don't tell me I didn't warn you," Raven said as her eyes turned white, scanning her surrounding as pieces of mirrors and the bumper car that had attacked her moments ago floated in the air.  
Raven frowned when she realized that her attacker was nowhere to be found.  
Evening slowly set in and the shape-shifter found himself walking to his only place of sanctuary that was left – the coffee shop. Beast Boy dropped himself on the seat by the counter again but this time opted for a milkshake instead before resting his head on his arms.  
All this thinking made him tired and he wished he could just go to sleep in his bed. But he didn't know if Robin would be happy to see him back – in fact nobody seemed to be against his decision.  
Anger made itself obvious on the face of the green boy.  
Yes, nobody…except Raven.  
His anger diminished slightly – she still wanted him on the team even if she wanted him to get rid of Terra and Tezumi.  
But what…if she was right?  
His actions were also responsible for the tensions in the team – but he knew an innocent girl was in danger.  
And as his duty as a hero, he had to help her!  
"Where do I start?" Beast Boy groaned tiredly, not having any clue of Tezumi's whereabouts.  
And as if answering him, giggling sounded behind the shape-shifter and he whirled around, recognizing that sound from a mile.  
Beast Boy only gaped at the figure dressed in school uniform, his eyes roaming for a few seconds, taking the girl in before he stopped on the small, dark eyes.  
"Nani? Watashi wa watashinokao ni nanika o motto imasu ka?" the dark-haired girl asked with a confused look.  
Beast Boy broke out in a huge grin after he heard her voice. "Tezumi!" he cried and ran up to her before he stopped and concern crossed his face. "Are…are you ok?" he asked.  
She arched her eyebrow confused. "Anata wa hontoni kimiyona otokodesu." "I...guess you are," the changeling mumbled and smiled at her, causing her to smile back.  
"Shikashi, sore wa anata ga hijo ni shinrai no hitodearu koto o imi shimasu," she said and took his hand and a light blush appeared on his face, causing her to giggle. "Dono yo ni wareware wa kono basho o suteru to, ikutsu ka no basho ga yori puraibeto mitsukerudeshou ka?" she said in a low voice, her grip tightening for one moment and the shape-shifter found himself staring at her for a moment.  
And suddenly he wished that the coffee shop was uninhabited of customers and workers…only so he could stare longer at the mysterious girl in front of him without having to worry about stares directed at him.  
He broke out of his thought when he heard her sigh before he was pulled on his hand.  
"Ikimashou," she said while dragging him, leaving a glass of chocolate milkshake forgotten on the counter…  
"And where exactly are we touring?" Beast Boy asked but this time, the girl didn't answer as they were walking through the emptying streets of Jump City.  
And so the rest of the walk was silent and Beast Boy slowly realized that her walk was fast like she was impatient to get somewhere – like she wanted to show him something.  
After a few more minutes of walking, she turned a narrow and dark alley and Beast Boy noticed that they were not surrounded by houses but by walls – by nothing but high, windowless walls and he wondered where they were as they continued their way through the now curving and somewhat maze-like alley.  
And finally, somewhere near a dead-end, she stopped and turned to him with a smirk on her face.  
"I don't know if I should be interested…or creeped out of this place," Beast Boy said, taking a last look at the deserted and cold surrounding before looking at Tezumi.  
And that strange feeling of familiarity and warmth spread through him as he took in her mischief-filled eyes. "Watashi wa anata o korosu mae ni, saigo no negai?" the dark-haired girl whispered, leaning closer.  
But he somehow leaned towards the first option and a smirk crossed his face. "You know what I would answer," he replied and mirrored her action.  
They once again made contact and once again did the shape-shifter regret having wrong thoughts about Tezumi. How could he think of ever being wrong about this girl? How could he think that she was too weak to fight against Slade?  
Terra managed to fight back so why couldn't she?  
He broke out of his thoughts when he felt her pulling away, her cocky expression still intact. "Anata wa hontoni anata no yujin ni me o hikara sete oku hitsuyo ga arimasu. Amarini mo warui anatawa machigatta hito no ue ni tokei o iji suru koto o kimemashita," she purred as she placed her finger under his chin playfully, her smirk turning into a grin.  
"You know, I don't really care what you just said," he replied and made the first move this time, not willing to let her go like all these other times as he continued where they left off.  
And he realized that she was quite passionate – like this was the last time they would see each other. And he wondered if she thought like that…maybe he could take things to the next level – after all he was sure she wanted this as well.  
He felt one of her arms remove from his shoulders and he used this change to wrap his arms round her waist, pulling her closer. He managed a peek and his eyes rested on her right leg that somehow managed to move against his waist. And as his thoughts were filled with counteractions to her bold act, his eyes widened in surprise as her arm moved again towards him.  
With a strong push, he managed to create some distance before he stepped back. But he wasn't fast enough to evade the pain that engraved in his shoulder before he toppled to the ground.  
He looked up to see Tezumi standing over him with a kunai in her hand before he looked to the direction of the pain that slowly began to subside. His eyes looked in shock at what he saw – his suit was torn from the shoulder that also reached a small portion of his upper back, revealing a long gash beneath it.  
He stood up, flinching from the pain before a foot to his face sent him back onto the ground. "Ok, I…didn't know you could cheat…during sparring matches," Beast Boy groaned, getting into a sitting position.  
Tezumi stepped up to him. "Watashi wa anata no uchigawa ni sono kimono o mite mimashou. Watashi no emonowa sukoshi modotte takau baai, watashi wa sore ga sukidesu."  
"Translation please?" the shape-shifter asked, evading the knife but failed to see the fist that slammed into his stomach, causing him to trip forward in time to see the knife approach him. He caught it before reaching him. "T-Tezumi, I'm still crippled from the last time we tangoed," he groaned, not in the mood to be touched like this.  
She took him by surprise however, when she slammed her knee against his chin with a jump, causing him to fly backwards onto the ground hard. He sat back up to see her giggle at him. "Watashi wa anata ga dono-yo ni orokana shinjirukoto ga dekimasen." Her eyes stared into his, her smirk once again erasing her innocence. "Otaku…"  
Beast Boy gaped at the girl in front of him as the word slowly registered in his mind. Images of Tokyo replayed in his mind – images of a giggling girl he met in front of the manga publishing store. Images of that same girl turning into a deadly, pink, cat-girl before she tried to kill him.  
"O-otaku?" he stammered, finally realizing who Tezumi really was. 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Tough decision "What did you just say?" Beast Boy mumbled and stood up. The girl in front of him shifted her kunai so now the tip was facing downwards again before she charged. Beast Boy ducked before morphing into rabbit, hopping out from under her. Suddenly, the kunai landed in front of him and he stopped and turned around, only to be lifted by his ears. Beast Boy was a quick thinker however and morphed into a kangaroo, letting his feet collide with her chest which caused her to trip back.  
Tezumi quickly caught herself and charged again, letting her fist fly towards him. Beast Boy morphed into a ram, ducking low before jumping upwards, aiming with his horns at her face. But being agile and flexible, Tezumi stopped collision by implanting her foot onto his horns, keeping him on the ground before she grabbed them and easily swung him away.  
He turned to a hawk mid-flight and made a turn before he nose-dived at her. The hawk turned to a lion, slamming his paws against her but she just moved with his weight and shot out her feet after she fell, causing the lion to slam against the wall before morphing back to human.  
"Why would you attack me?" Beast Boy asked when he managed to get up, evading the knife as it was once again in her hand, relentlessly trying to slash him. Beast Boy jumped backwards so he had enough time to morph, since she was very quick.  
But before he could move, the kunai hit his turtle shell and he felt the shell crack a bit from the force she used. "Watashi wa mada imasen yo," the girl said and swung her hand again but Beast Boy morphed into a butterfly to evade.  
With a leap, Tezumi managed to snatch the fleeing insect from the air and triumph showed in her expression. She fisted her hand that had the insect before she squeezed so hard, her knuckles turned white.  
She opened her palm but was surprised to find a tiny ant crawling on her palm instead of the crushed butterfly. The ant vanished when it changed to a deadly tarantula and Tezumi shook her hand before she decided to crush it with her foot.  
The tarantula also vanished as it was replaced with a mouse scurrying away before the foot hit ground. Tezumi narrowed her eyes as she crouched low before she jumped at it with a cat-like leap and his tail got caught in her hand.  
A chuckle escaped the girl as she lifted the trashing mouse by its tail before a bear replaced it, managing to strike the girl with his paw. But the girl simply back flipped on the ground until she found her footing again. With a ferocious roar, Beast Boy lunged at the girl who jumped out of the way of his attack and with a quick but strong kick, sent the bear to the ground. Tezumi approached the bear, kunai in hand but the bear vanished to be replaced by a dog that jumped away as the kunai lunged forward. Tezumi frowned at the canine before said animal sprang after the girl only to receive a kick to its belly, sending it back onto the ground. "Watashi wa inu ga kirai. Watashi wa ikite iru sorera ni sukin o tekiyo suru koto ga dekimasu," she spat, hate obvious in her voice.  
The dark-haired girl approached the unmoving animal before, all of a sudden it jumped at her arm that held the kunai. She dropped the kunai as the dog's teeth dug into her skin but with a powerful fling, the dog was flying back to the ground. The Asian saw that the dog once again rushed at her but was surprised to see it jump and turn to a hawk before reaching her. Once again did the hawk nose-dive at her before morphing into a jaguar. But before reaching the girl, Tezumi shot out her hand and simply grabbed the neck of the large cat in mid-air, causing the cat to dangle helplessly in the air before morphing back to human.  
Tezumi chuckled, seeing the struggling expression of the green Titan. "W-why are you doing this? What do you want from me?" Beast Boy asked the smirking girl and once again he saw the mischief twinkle in her eyes.  
Her grip on his neck tightened suddenly and he grabbed her arm, trying to pry her off him. "Anata wa watashi ga ikinokotta ka watashi o motomete iru baai baai wa, node wa naku, subete no inku ga arainagasa to shimashou. Watashi wa ikinokottanode Brushogun no maho wa watashitoisshoni taizai shimashita. Ima, watashi wa watashi no kira o koroshitaidesu. Soshite, watashi wa anata, bisutoboi o shitaidesu."  
His hearing worsened by the end of her sentence and his arms began lose the strength to lift themselves. "W-what…do you want?" he choked out.  
His vision blurred for a moment before he saw that she pulled out his titan communicator. "Watashi wa fukushu o shitaidesu," she spoke into the yellow device with hatred in her voice.  
She brought the shape-shifter closer to her face and pressed the communicator next to his ear. And his eyes snapped open when hearing her recorded voice speak in a familiar language. "I want revenge."  
Revenge?  
So all this attraction…was just…fake?  
She had just pretended to like him?  
Beast Boy shut his eyes, his anger suddenly boiling beneath him like a volcano about to erupt. "H-How…could you?" he rasped, his voice failing him.  
Tezumi's eyes opened wide when she saw that his suit began tearing and he gained in size, causing her to drop him. He fell onto his knees, still growing as his skin began to sprout fur and his hands gained claws, ripping through his gloves. He bared his fangs as a menacing growl sounded through the alley.  
Tezumi took a step back but that was all the Beast needed to go on a rampage. The large animal swiped against the startled girl, causing her to fly against the wall but the girl recovered from the impact and ripped off an entire metal staircase that led to the roof of a building. The animal already jumped her and she just managed to swing. But she was taken off guard when the animal grabbed the heavy staircase and flung it along with the girl to the wall of the opposite building. Tezumi got back onto her feet, this time grabbing a trashcan. The green monster was already sprinting towards her and she swung it against him. With a mere swing of his hand, the monster managed to hit the large metal can away. He rammed against the girl before he lifted her and threw her against a light post.  
A victorious growl escaped the animal. Tezumi slowly managed to stand up however and started laughing. "Watashi wa anata no naibu no yona kimono o motte ita shirimasendeshita. Kore wa, anata o gomon suru koto ga sarani tanoshiku narimasu."  
And suddenly, a pink whirlwind surrounded her before it dispersed just as quickly, revealing a pink-cat girl with pink, slanted eyes – Nya-Nya. At the sight of the pink menace, the Beast let out another animalistic howl before charging at her. Nya-Nya managed to jump over it with a flip and lifted a car that was parked at the end of the dead-end. With particular ease, the cat-girl flung the heavy SUV towards the beast that was approaching her with a leap. With a mighty swing of his large hands, the car dented and flew back at her and the pink killer just managed to jump back to avoid collision. The pink cat didn't want to leave an opening and jumped against one of the building's wall, evading another attack at the same time before she jumped off the wall. With a few turns in the air, Nya-Nya stretched out her foot and hit the Beast full-force into his face, causing him to topple over.  
But the animal stood up just in time to see her launch another kick at him but this time managed to step aside before grabbing her by the tail.  
Taken by surprise, Nya-Nya tried to swipe her other leg at him but was too late. With a quick, powerful swing, the Beast managed to send the cat-girl crashing through a thick metal door of one of the buildings. He followed her inside, slamming his hands against where she lied, but she managed to evade with a large leap backwards. The green animal let out an angered growl, slowly approaching her. The girl took a few steps backwards…but the Beast didn't sense any fear coming from her now – but confidence.  
His eyes managed to adjust in the dim light but he knew that the cat still had the advantage. And then he heard her startled voice.  
"N-Nani?" she cried before he saw another person aiming a fist at her but was foiled and with a quick punch to the stomach was sent her to the ground. The girl struggled to stand up but was kicked once more like a soccer ball, skidding across the ground. But the girl tried to stand up once more. Unfortunately, a foot to her back sent her back onto the ground. "Anata wa jibun jishin o kaiho suru tame ni kanri shimashita. Watashi wa anata gasubete no nochi ni seijodenai koto o suisoku shi," the cat-girl purred intrigued and forced the girl's face upwards by pulling her blonde hair.  
And suddenly the rage inside the Beast vanished and was replaced with pure worry.  
The girl gasped when her eyes met the green monster in front of her that kept staring at her with those soulless eyes.  
"I-is that you…Beast Boy?" the girl asked in confusion and somehow the girl's voice managed to touch him and the Beast cowered on the floor, his eyes still glued to her bruised face.  
It didn't take long for her to realize what had happened and her blue eyes hardened in anger. "What did you do to him?" she shouted angrily, only causing her to chuckle.  
This caused the girl to struggle before she hit the floor once again as the pink feline increased her pressure on her back. Tears began to form in the girl's blue eyes as she saw that Beast Boy was still cringing on the floor before she shut them, unable to look at that horrible sight any longer. "I…don't want to use it. I don't want to hurt anyone. But…you leave me…no other choice!"  
Cracks began to form on the walls and the floor, creeping towards the pink feline who still had her hair in her grip.  
The blonde-haired girl opened her eyes which revealed a yellow glow. "Leave Beast Boy alone!" she cried and her hands gained a yellow glow as well.  
"Terra!"  
The girl gasped at hearing her name called and the glow vanished as her eyes met green ones.  
"You don't have to use your powers! I can defeat her just by myself."  
"No, I have to-"Terra said, her hands lifting before a sudden pull back, sent her against the wall. Terra struggled to get up, only to receive another blow to her face, bringing her back down. The girl lifted Terra by her neck, pressing her against the wall and sent her fist into the girl's stomach that caused her to lurch forward.  
"Terra!" the shape-shifter cried and lashed out at the cat-girl but with a skillful turn, the cat girl sent her foot into the green Titan's chest, causing him to tumble back onto the floor.  
And as he sat up, his eyes made out the yellow communicator in her hand and she spoke in her strange language before she threw the device between her and the shape-shifter. Her recorded voice echoed through the warehouse. "Make a wrong move…and she will die. The pink cat-girl tightened her grip on Terra's throat, eliciting a struggled groan from her. "Let her go!" the shape-shifter said, taking a careful step forward before she muttered something else, causing him to stop immediately.  
"Try to trick me and your other friends will be blown into the sea and swim with the fishes," the recorded voice echoed.  
"You're bluffing!" Beast Boy shouted angrily, taking another step forward.  
Her eyes narrowed at him as Terra grunted once more, and Beast Boy realized that she had been choking her while they were talking. "Try me," came the recorded voice and the shape-shifter saw with horror that Terra's eyes glowed yellow before they closed and her head fell limply to the side.  
"Stop!" he cried and the pink feline grinned at him. "You won," he muttered in defeat and the cat-girl dropped the unconscious blonde.  
Her eyes sparked with malice. "Gochiso suru jikan…"  



	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Love hurts The rosette slowly approached the shape-shifter with graceful, taunting steps. The shape-shifter watched past her swaying form at the distance that kept increasing between her and the unconscious Terra.  
He just needed to transform into an animal fast enough to reach her, before she could get to her first.  
Cheetah it is.  
His eyes wandered over to the communicator on the floor.  
But what if she wasn't bluffing?  
What if his friends would really be blown up, if he tried to move his way out of this mess?  
And suddenly he felt like he was balancing the whole Titan Tower on his shoulders – was this how Robin must have felt when he became Slade's apprentice?  
His eyes wandered to the pink cat that reduced the distance between them and he realized that this time, he had to make a decision!  
And he chose his friends!  
With that thought, Beast Boy morphed into a cheetah and charged at the pink menace before she did the same. Right before reaching her however, he morphed back as his hands reached out for the yellow device on the floor.  
His face fell in slow motion, as Nya-Nya snatched the device right from under his nose, sending her leg against his head and causing him to tumble sideways before he came to a painful stop against the wall.  
He got back up on his feet when he saw the dangerous female already looming over him. "I never thought I would hate cats," he said before he morphed into a T-Rex, letting out an angered roar.  
The green dinosaur swung his gigantic tail, but his size also made him slow and the pink cat evaded the attack by jumping on the rail of a staircase to her left.  
The dinosaur opened his large mouth and decided to swallow the cat whole but the pink girl jumped off the staircase, causing the dinosaur to get metal in his mouth instead before spitting it out.  
Realizing that the dinosaur might be too slow for any offence, Beast Boy morphed into an ostrich and charged at the unmoving threat. Nya-Nya held out her hand that held his communicator and the ostrich stopped mid-sprint before morphing back to human.  
His eyes were glued to the blinking screen as a beeping sound echoed through the hall.  
Did…she activate it?  
"Toki, karera wa teokure ni naru koto o rikai surudearou ka?" the girl spoke with confidence and she relished in his fearful expression. She shut off the device before the changeling received his translation and closed the space between them. Beast Boy tore his eyes off his enemy's face before they landed on the unconscious Terra.  
And suddenly he felt ashamed.  
Terra wasn't scared of death, but she wasn't scared of fighting her enemies either – even if it was through his words. But it was ultimately her choice to risk losing everyone she loved if it meant protecting them. Robin wasn't afraid of losing his team along with himself if it meant to free them from his enemies clutches. In an act of hope and rage, Beast Boy let his fist fly towards her face, only for her to catch it.  
"Anata wa kono koto o kokai shimasu," his enemy spoke, her words seeming to linger in the air.  
Meanwhile Robin, Cyborg and Starfire were still waiting for Raven and Beast Boy to arrive so they could finally eat dinner since Cyborg insisted on pizza instead of Tamaranian alien stew.  
"Can we commence with the eating?" Starfire asked for the 3rd time now.  
"This time, I have to agree with Star. My stomach might look metallic on the outside but even metal can't wait for 2 hours," Cyborg said, twiddling his knife in his large hands impatiently. Robin's thoughtful expression softened. "Alright but let me check on them before I start," their leader said while pulling out his communicator.  
He activated it with the push of a button…and suddenly beeping sounds echoed through the tower.  
"Is it my systems or do I really hear something?" Cyborg asked.  
"I hear the strange noises too," Starfire added and looked around, in search of the source. "Could there be something wrong with our communicators? Or the Mainframe computer," Robin wondered aloud when his eyes opened wide and Starfire and Cyborg looked at him in confusion.  
"What is it?" Starfire asked and saw that Robin stood up.  
"I hope our security system hasn't malfunctioned again," he murmured and went out of the common room, Starfire and Cyborg following him like little ducklings.  
But the after a few minutes of scanning, the mainframe computer and security systems showed no signs of problems.  
They passed the hallway back to the common room when Robin noticed that the noise was loudest in Beast Boy's room.  
"This is one of Beast Boy's lamest pranks," Cyborg groaned as Robin went inside to examine the changeling's room.  
And suddenly Cyborg's human eye opened wide in shock. Stuck on the edge of Beast Boy's door was a small circular object that closely resembled a bug – but the red blinking light suggested that it was something else.  
And as the blinking increased in pace, Cyborg stormed into Beast Boy's room. "Robin! We have to get out now! There's a bomb!" he shouted panic-stricken.  
"What?"  
Not shortly after…half of the tower burst into flames.  
The grip of the enemy was strong but yet it was clear that she was holding back.  
Beast Boy let his other fist fly forward as well but was beaten to it when her knee suddenly found itself lodged inside his belly.  
With a quick pull, the dazed boy was swung towards the wall, but he just managed to land on his knees.  
He got up on his feet in time to see the girl launching another attack at him and morphed into a dove. Unfortunately, he didn't get far when the cat caught up fast and slammed the bird brutally against the wall.  
The bird vanished and Beast Boy struggled to sit up when he felt a shadow spread over him.  
Nya-Nya stood over him, an expression of pure joy on her face. How could he beat her?  
He saw her vanish when Brushogun died…so why was she still here?  
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw her crouch down to his level and he tried to move but she had beaten him up to a point where every move hurt – not to mention that his shoulder began to protest again.  
And suddenly his instincts began to protest as well.  
The changeling closed his eyes, not wanting to let rage control him again – he would save his friends but not in this way.  
But the thought of seeing her lifeless before his feet was intriguing – the thought of letting her have a taste of her own medicine. The thought of torturing her…  
"No!" the shape-shifter cried, clenching his hands as if to stop them from moving by themselves.  
And fear mixed with his anger, feeling the exposed skin of his ripped gloves. "Tokiniha, kontororu o ushinau koto wa sore hodo warui kotode wa arimasen. Subete no nochi ni wareware wa ryoho tomo tanoshi jikan o sugoshimashita," the feline murmured with intrigue. His eyes snapped open and he was faced with cat eyes staring back at him.  
And he wondered what he saw in Tezumi in the first place.  
The girl let a smile play on her face. "Soshite, tokiniha anata wa jibun no hon'no o shinrai shinakereba narimasen," she said in that same tone of voice, her eyes glancing at the tears in his suit.  
Beast Boy let a frown appear on his face, hoping she would stop coming any closer to him. Too bad that she was neither timid nor easily intimidated. "Naze son'nani shinken'na nda? Watashi wa kantan ni monogoto o toru no ga suki dakede wa arimasendeshita chi tte imasu," she whispered, ignoring the hateful stare the shape-shifter shot at her. "I'm not falling for your smooth talk anymore," the changeling growled, the pain intensifying as he tried to move away from the approaching girl.  
She stopped his movement as she grabbed onto his tattered suit before pulling him forward. "Ikagen'ni shite! Bisuto o shimashou!" the soft feel of her words couldn't hide the cruel, hard intentions she directed into his ear.  
What used to fill him with joy and anticipation now filled him with anger and disgust as her fangs continued to try to persuade him silently into giving in to his instincts.  
"I'm not…turning…into that anymore," he said, struggling to keep himself under control.  
She lifted his head, placing a finger under his chin and the changeling felt his control slipping quickly. "Watashi wa ima anata o settoku shimashita ka?" His eyes widened as Tezumi gave him a smile…before his hand lashed out at her face, successfully throwing her off balance as he engraved a gash across her right eye.  
He managed to stand in time to see Tezumi charging at him and he instinctively shot out his foot towards her face. Unfortunately, she saw it coming and grabbed the foot in one of her hands before shoving the boy against the wall.  
Another hand joined the first, before gently bending it until it wouldn't anymore.  
The changeling shot out his fist, despite the pain that was still present but the girl was quicker, once again gaining help from her knee that had quite forcefully rammed into him.  
His arm grew limp as he jolted forward but the Asian never removed her grip from his foot that began lowering until it reached the level of her waist.  
And for a split-second, Beast Boy thought that she had given up.  
But the feline's smirk erased the flicker of hope the young Titan had as she probed his foot playfully until she was sure that he wouldn't be able to move it beyond a certain point. "Anata ga genkai ni tasshite kita yo ni omoemasu. Watashi wa dobutsu ga kowareta ashi kara kaifuku suru koto ga dekiru monodarou ka?" Nya-Nya smirked.  
With that, her hands began moving in slow motion before Beast Boy's painful screams drowned out the nasty cracking sounds coming from his foot. His tormentor's smirk widened only. "Hai! Sore de oshimai! Watashi no tame ni himewiwoageru!" she cried excitedly, her hands continuing to move towards an unnatural angle.  
Beast Boy forced his eyes to open so he could find his aim. The blurred image of Nya-Nya's face appeared in his vision and gathering all his energy that he had left, he shot out his fist, catching the pink feline in her jaw.  
He felt something remove from his foot before he fell against the wall and collapsed. The young Titan tried to catch his breath as his foot continued to throb with pain. His eyes shut from exhaustion and he clearly felt traces of tears on his face.  
His eyes snapped open as suddenly, a hand grabbed his face and he came face to face with the pink girl. "Now…I'm convinced…that cats have nine…lives," Beast Boy gasped and a smirk appeared on his face, greatly intriguing the cat that faced him.  
How could he possibly have hope in this situation?  
"Watashi wa Tokyo de watashitachi no chisana deai irai, kono yona tanoshimi o motte imasendeshita," Nya-Nya murmured, her claws tracing along the gash from their previous encounter. "Watashi wa anata o korosu koto o yaku teru yona zan'nen," she said before her tongue trailed along that same gash in a gentle manner.  
"I can't believe…I thought of you as my girlfriend," the shape-shifter chuckled in mockery before she forcefully lifted his head, leaving his throat exposed to her.  
Her claws pressed against it and Nya-Nya spoke with triumph in her voice.  
"Sayonara…"  



	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Losing control Beast Boy felt the pink cat-girl increase the pressure on his throat before, suddenly the warehouses' lights died. But the deadly claws didn't remove until a very familiar voice echoed through the darkness.  
"You might know your way around in darkness but you forget that you're in my element now."  
Beast Boy managed a smile, hearing Raven's voice before he felt the claws remove suddenly from his throat as he heard his attacker cry out in surprise and pain as something slammed into her. "Talk about good timing," Beast Boy said before he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
"Now is not the time for a comedy club," Raven said in her deadpan voice, before purple magic illuminated her concentrated face as she began healing his slashed shoulder.  
"Rae, I think my foot is…worse off than that little scratch," the green boy groaned.  
"Doesn't sound like it," the half-demon retorted, but shifted her attention to the twisted ankle nonetheless and the shape-shifter cried out in pain as his bone relocated once again.  
"Not so hard! Are you trying to heal it…or breaaa-"  
"Quit whining," Raven cut in, unable to hear his high-pitched voice become even louder than usual. And suddenly the purple glow disappeared as the half-demon suddenly jolted to the left as something collided with her.  
Raven managed to get back onto her feet only for something to pull on her cloak and swing her against the wall. She got up only in time to form a shield and block another attack.  
That girl was quick and strong and to top it off, had excellent sight in darkness. Raven decided to switch to offence. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" With the muttering of her mantra, the metallic remains of the staircase left by the T-Rex lifted and wrung themselves around the cat-girl. The outline of her body remained in its spot, indicating that she had finally managed to restrain the feline. "Anata wa hontoni anata ga kata to omoimasu ka?" the cat-girl said with confidence before Raven heard sounds of moving metal echoing through the darkness. She saw the shadowed figure, having the railing that held her captive just moments ago in her hand. "Strength won't help you. You have to show me more if you want to impress me."  
With that, the shadow bent the metal railing, turning it into a make-shift spear before throwing it at the half-demon.  
Raven floated upwards before a second one flew towards her but she managed to stop its motion right before it went into her forehead by using her magic. The second spear floated up to the second one before with a flick of her hand, they broke up into rods. "Still think of fighting?" Raven asked, the numerous rods waiting for a signal to be propelled forward.  
"Dono yo ni anata wa watashi no sonzai ga sukina nodesu ka?"  
"I don't like the tone in your voice," Raven replied before the rods shot forward.  
With skillful, quick flips and twists, Nya-Nya managed to jump out of each of the rods' way before a last one shot at her face. She caught it in mid-flight before she chuckled.  
"That was only a warm-up," Raven said and her hands glowed with dark energy.  
But something caught her eyes – a blinking light that came from the attacker's hand. Raven's hands flicked once and suddenly the warehouse received its light back – and her eyes stared back in utter horror, realizing that the pink feline had Terra's hair in her grasp, pulling her upwards so that she was facing her.  
The former Titan had a nasty wound on the side of her head as well as a few bruises on her eye and cheek. But what caused Raven slowly to lose her cool was the fact that she was most probably responsible that Terra was unconscious.  
"Anata wa mada anata ga chansu o motte iru to omoi masu ka?" Nya-Nya spoke triumphantly before the device in her other hand played her recorded voice. "Do you still think you have a chance?"  
Boxes of different sizes flew up to the half-demon and she narrowed her eyes. "Let her go or I will crush you!"  
The pink feline muttered something in Japanese again before her recorded voice sounded through the warehouse. "Crush me and she will be crushed as well."  
Terra's head lifted a bit higher, as the girl pulled harder on her hair and Raven clenched her teeth in anger.  
"What do you want?" the half-demon asked.  
The recorded voice answered her. "You knew what I wanted. You knew who I was…but you were unable to protect him."  
Raven felt the anger within her increasing.  
"All you did was hope for him to come back to his senses, not realizing that mere words wouldn't affect him anymore – not after you denied him friendship with Terra-chan."  
"You're lying!" Raven shouted angrily, pipes now joining the boxes in the air.  
"Why are you angry? I saw you talking to Beast Boy so he would stop seeing me and saw your other friends being angry with him when he didn't answer his communicator. And I saw you stalking us."  
"Because I knew I couldn't trust you!" Raven screamed, her cool suddenly leaving her.  
"Was it because you couldn't trust me? Is that the same reason you didn't let him see Terra-chan?" Nya-Nya's recorded voice said, making Terra's head tilt slightly.  
"Shut up!" Raven screeched as her blood red eyes shot down at her.  
"Oh, I guess I hit a soft spot. And you know I like to slice soft things apart."  
"Don't you dare touch her!" Raven growled as the dark energy surrounded her body. "Don't worry! I won't if you don't make me," the voice played before Nya-Nya set her claws upon the girl's throat.  
"What do you want?" Raven said, trying hard to keep herself restrained.  
A smirk played on the girl's lips before she spoke and the recorded voice sounded through the warehouse. "I want him!"  
"N-No!" Raven cried after seeing her finger pointed at Beast Boy and she dropped to the floor as she fought with her inner demon, the boxes and pipes dropping after her.  
"But you on the other hand…you can be trouble and I can't let you foil my plan." With a giant leap, the pink feline reached up to the struggling Raven and shot out her claw.  
"Raven!" the shape-shifter cried before suddenly, the ground in front of the half-demon turned to a make-shift shield.  
The shield crumbled upon impact and Raven fell backwards before she looked up and her red eyes stared in awe as Terra stood with glowing yellow eyes in front of her.  
"Don't touch my friends!" Terra shouted in rage and her hands shot up, causing cracks to appear on the celling before a part of the wall behind the former Titan shot at the cat-girl. She evaded with a jump before she simply smashed the next one, coming up in front of the blonde-haired girl and sending her fist into her stomach. Terra clenched her hands, the ground under her shaking before a piece of the floor caught the girl in her jaw and tripped backwards.  
The blonde-haired girl suddenly gasped, realizing that the cracks didn't stop forming. "I-I…can't stop it!" she cried and dropped to her knees, trying to make the trembling under her stop as well.  
"Yes, you can!"  
Terra looked up at those words as the cracks around her began to grow longer.  
"Don't fight her!" Beast Boy called.  
Both, Raven and Terra looked in astonishment at the shape-shifter.  
Nya-Nya looked in surprise at the scene that occurred around her before she chuckled, catching their attention. "I didn't know you had such a deep connection with each other," the recorded voice spoke before Nya-Nya stepped up to the shape-shifter and forced his eyes away from the two girls on the ground.  
"Sono ketsugo o setsudan suru koto ga yori tanoshiku narimasu," Nya-Nya purred in delight before grabbing the shape-shifter by his arm and dragged him to the middle of the room.  
"Makes it more fun to break that bond," the recorded voice said and all 3 looked up at the pink feline before she grinned cruelly at the male Titan.  
Meanwhile Robin, Cyborg and Starfire found themselves on the coast of Jump City, looking back at their partially destroyed Tower as smoke rose from the upper part of it.  
"I'd really like to know who managed to get past my security systems and plant a time-bomb inside the tower," Cyborg said angrily, still shocked to see that his beloved Tower was demolished by something so small. "I don't think it was a timer," Robin said, surprising the half-robot. "I think it was a sensor…or even remote controlled."  
"So you mean there might be someone who has enough of the 'grudge' to try to destroy us from within our tower?" Starfire asked.  
Robin lowered his gaze, his burning Tower bringing too much pain as a certain memory replayed in his head. "There are many villains who would if they had the chance, but didn't. So it must be someone…Beast Boy knows," he said and Cyborg stepped forward, knowing which direction the conversation was going to take.  
"But it could be anyone who might have just some knowledge of our Tower. I mean Brother Blood also once got hold of my blueprints," the half-robot retorted.  
"No, Cyborg! It must be someone close to Beast Boy. He said that someone right out came into his room and attacked him. So he certainly wouldn't look for information, valuables or such in Beast Boy's room. And do I need to tell you? Beast Boy was attacked in his sleep. If he hadn't been awake, he might even not be alive!"  
Cyborg dropped his head, realizing that he had lost this argument.  
"So you mean that the one who attacked Beast Boy…was Terra?" Starfire asked, gaining a confused stare from Cyborg.  
Robin walked past her before he stopped briefly. "I don't want to believe it either. But it's either her…or Slade!"  
"And you believe…Raven went after them?" Cyborg asked.  
"I'm afraid so. She can't fight for long with those wounds she got from the explosion. We all can't. And that's why we only have to focus on Beast Boy and Raven. Whatever you do…don't get into any fight," Robin said, flinching as another jab of pain cruised through him. "Let's go!"  
With that, the 3 Titans started their search.  
A sudden beeping and blinking filled the warehouse and Nya-Nya cocked her head to the side. Beast Boy reached for the device in her hand before she took hold of his wrist.  
"Oso sugiru," she spoke arrogantly…before crushing the communicator in her hand, causing 3 pairs of eyes to stare in disbelief at the remains on the floor. "Soredewa, saisho ni kare no kanjo ni ataeru dare ga mite mimashou…"  
Her taunting words were followed by a pained scream from the shape-shifter as she twisted his wrist of the fist that was still in her grip.  
"Beast Boy!"  
Wanting to help but fearing their loss of control, the two girls remained on the ground, trying to get their powers to obey them.  
The pink feline evaded a fist of the shape-shifter before grabbing his throat and lifting him one-handedly. The changeling shut his eyes as the pain gave rise to the familiar feeing of destruction – of wanting to release the Beast.  
"It's not the thing inside of you that makes you a monster, but knowing when to let it out that makes you a man."  
"You go. You're the hero."  
How could he be a hero…if he couldn't even save himself? Maybe…now was the time to let it out – to lose control? That was how Terra defeated Slade – how Raven defeated Trigon – how he defeated Adonis.  
He felt his strength slipping as the grip became tighter and he realized that he was running out of choices.  
His eyes snapped open and blurred colors faced him.  
And being overwhelmed with pure rage, the 3 teens let out earsplitting screams, before a sudden surge of energy flowed through them.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Bonds Pink eyes looked in confusion as a shadow spread in front of her, the green Titan once again morphing into his darker side. Nya-Nya dropped the cowering boy before jumping to the side, as a boulder slammed into the ground just behind Beast Boy. She turned around only to see a boulder flying towards her and with a high jump, managed to shatter the boulder using a mere kick. The cat landed gracefully on her feet, seeing Terra's glowing eyes narrow at her before the ground under the cat shook. Nya-Nya jumped away just as the area under her gave away before turning around, ready to attack. And that's when she saw a black ethereal, raven emerging from the half-demon before it entered her body. The pink feline tried to move but only managed slight twitching before her body refused to obey her anymore. Images of her encounter with Beast Boy flashed in front of her eyes and the half-demon sensed deep feelings within the schoolgirl Tezumi every time she faced the shape-shifter – it was that incredible hate…but it was also accompanied with the need for physical contact. But there was no love – not even crushing…only carnal cravings.  
"Let's see what happens when you get physical with his animalistic side," the half-demon said in her demonic voice before Nya-Nya started walking again. And with horror she realized that she was walking towards the giant beast that stood in the center of the hall, its eyes reflecting the bloodlust that was obviously present inside of him. Nya-Nya struggled to get her body back under her control but her body continued to act on her own – to Raven's will. The cat-girl stopped in front of the Beast that was breathing heavily through its nose.  
And that's when the pink feline lost her self-confidence. She knew, as long as the half-demon was in possession of her body, she couldn't escape.  
The Beast lifted its large arm, claws aimed at her, before Nya-Nya suddenly regained her control as the ethereal raven floated out of her. The girl didn't waste any time, and made a big leap to the side but was not far away enough to escape the claws that tore through her body, sending her crashing into the wall. The feline slowly managed to get up on her knees before the ceiling above her began to crumble, small pieces of it falling around her. The rocks were replaced with raindrops and the pink feline flinched, coming into contact with the liquid. And suddenly her eyes were surrounded by darkness before she suddenly bolted forward. And in pure horror, she realized that she was headed for the charging Beast. But once again, she was controlled by the Empath and the Beast struck the cat again, sending her back where she came from.  
The feline's body throbbed with pain and it took her a while before she could get onto her knees. She slowly looked up to see that she was surrounded by the three unusual beings as they bore their hateful stares into her. The gentle raindrops had come down in a sudden downpour now and each raindrop left a small trail of black ink running, being the cat's weakness. Her eyes closed, realizing that she wouldn't have much of a chance against them. She felt her strength slipping as each drop of rain caused another drop of ink to seep out of her. And suddenly, her eyes snapped open when she heard the voice of the half-demon mutter incoherent words. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…" But then she heard the half-demon murmur chants in her language.  
Her eyes opened wide, seeing an ink star form under her and she realized that this looked very similar to the magic Brushogun used to bring her to life. She had heard the rumors about someone making ink creations using dark magic – beings like her when she was still under his control. So does it mean…that this demon knew how to reverse the spell?  
"A-anata wa kono jumon o dono yo ni shitte imasu ka? Ie, watashi wa anata ga watashi o tsuiho sa semasen!" the pink feline cried in panic before she lashed out at the conjurer. "Shine!" she screamed, before a boulder sent her back to the floor. Suddenly she felt as if an invisible force drained her energy like mortals being drained of their blood. Her eyes shifted to the green monster in front of her as it raised its arm for the last time. "Watashi wa…honka no soba ni anata o matteimasu," she murmured before the dangerous claws, tore her body apart, covering the 3 rage-filled teens in ink before the rain began to wash it away and vanish into nothingness upon coming in contact with the star imprinted on the ground.  
They stared at the star before it vanished too, as if it had never been there. The green Beast faced the two girls, and Terra took a step back before clenching her fists, trying to stop using her powers. But she realized that the cracks continued to form and she closed her eyes, hoping that things wouldn't spin out of control. But Raven wasn't intimidated of the large creature taking a step forward and a smirk played on her lips. "Are you trying to scare me? Let me show you why it doesn't work," she replied in her demonic voice as she became once again, engulfed in dark magic.  
The Beast stopped moving suddenly, before it slowly retreated into the young boy. Beast Boy collapsed onto the ground before a smile played on his lips. "I…did it. You can too," he breathed, the pain from his foot once again setting in. Raven narrowed her eyes before cracking sounds caught her attention. Terra and Beast Boy heard them too and looked towards the ground. The whole floor of the warehouse was filled with cracks of different sizes and length, some of them stretching even up to the ceiling!  
Another cracking sound - this time louder. Terra and Raven returned to their usual selves as the ground under them began to cave in. Terra and Raven jumped up, attempting to help Beast Boy up to escape the collapsing building before the ground gave in just when they had reached the shape-shifter.  
They fell into a gaping hole, rolling down the pile of rubble that was part of the ground beneath the warehouse until they came to a sudden stop on the rocky ground deep below the building.  
Rocks of different sizes dropped from above and Terra and Raven made a shield as a large part of the ceiling dropped towards them.  
Their shields shattered upon impact, throwing them back. But the rocks above them didn't cease to crack or shift once in a while as smaller pieces of the walls, ground and ceiling of the warehouse dropped around them.  
And they realized…that if they didn't get out now…they will be crushed under the buildings remains.  
Beast Boy's whining brought them out of their horrifying thoughts and they saw him sitting on the ground with his foot still bent to an unnatural angle.  
Raven and Terra huddled closer to the hurt shape-shifter and Raven's hand glowed with purple energy. She placed her hand gently on his ankle and gasped, realizing that his foot wasn't only dislocated but also broken – probably from the harsh fall.  
The shape-shifter cried out upon contact and Terra hoped she could give him some kind of comfort by holding his hand.  
He forced a smile, not wanting to look weak in front of the girls.  
Raven flinched before the glow of her hand vanished, leaving his foot in that harmed state. "T-Terra, can you…get us out of here?"  
The girl nodded before her eyes glowed yellow. But before her object of transport was made, the glow from her eyes faded, leaving the girl gasping for air. "I…can't! My powers-"  
The 3 teens turned their eyes to the source of light coming from the hole from way up as more cracks and concrete appeared in their line of vision.  
"What about the others? Call them," Terra suggested and Raven took out her communicator…but their eyes lowered in defeat, seeing the sparks flying from the device, realizing that they had no way of contacting the others.  
All they could do was wait…and hope that they wouldn't be buried alive.  
Meanwhile Robin, Starfire and Cyborg passed the schoolyard after taking a careful look around for either their friends or their enemy. "Ok, where do we look now?" Cyborg asked after they had already searched the amusement park, the pizza parlor and the video game store for their green friend. The leader of the group stopped walking, his back facing them. "I…don't know."  
Confused and distraught expressions were directed at him, realizing that luck didn't seem to be on their side.  
"But we won't stop until we found them…even if it means that we have to face enemies and friends the same," Robin said with determination, causing the Titans behind him to regain some of their hope as well as worry for possible encounters with a former friend.  
Robin pulled out his communicator and once again, tried to reach either Beast Boy or Raven but like before both communicators seemed to be shut off. A frown appeared on his face.  
What did Slade want with Beast Boy?  
Was it because of his connection to Terra?  
So could it be that Terra…still was under Slade's influence – was Slade the reason she refused to come back?  
"Robin?"  
The Boy Wonder turned to the voice and Starfire faced him with a sad expression.  
"I do not wish to believe that Terra wants to hurt Beast Boy," she muttered and then lowered her gaze, not wishing to see the denial in his eyes.  
And somehow there wasn't any.  
"I don't either…but if it comes to this…then we have no other choice than to fight," Robin said and Starfire felt the hardness in his voice.  
She nodded reluctantly before the Titan leader motioned for them to split up as to cover more ground.  
The fact that even Raven wasn't reachable on her communicator worried the leader and he realized that they had to speed up their search if they wanted to get to them first.  
"Ok…we can't fly, we can't…contact the others, and…we're about to be buried alive. What option…do we have?" Beast Boy groaned, wishing he would at least get back home so he could just sleep the pain off.  
"The option to be quiet before the pain gets worse," Raven muttered and Beast Boy looked at her in annoyance.  
"Is 'quiet' gonna heal my foot…or my wrist?" Beast Boy said through clenched teeth, said body parts making talking difficult for him.  
"No, but you'll be better off if you do," Raven replied and magically, the shape-shifter remained silent.  
Cracking sounds caught their attention and they looked up to see the walls shifting once more, dropping small pieces of the wall towards them and they helped the shape-shifter change his position to get out of the way of falling debris.  
"Ow, watch it!" the shape-shifter shot Raven an angry look when she dropped him onto the ground.  
"Are…you ok?"  
Beast Boy and Raven looked into Terra's direction, hearing the genuine worry come from her voice. "Almost as good as new. I don't get what you're so worked up about. It takes more than a few broken bones to bring this guy down," he grinned, pointing to himself before he cried out as he realized too late that he had unconsciously attempted to move his broken hand. "And yet we're God knows how many meters down below," Raven replied as Terra giggled.  
"It's…not like you're…better off," the changeling retorted, flinching.  
Terra glanced at the half-demon, and realized that even in the dim light, her bruises and scratches were clearly visible.  
"What happened?" Terra asked reluctantly and she noticed a small smile on the changeling's face from the corner of her eyes.  
"I don't know why…" Raven said and glanced towards the green boy, "but somehow that girl – Nya-Nya – managed to plant a bomb into our tower and I just returned from outside when I saw the others running for the exits…but it was already too late," she said and the changeling shot her an annoyed glance. "Why were you here?" she asked and the blonde-haired girl looked up in surprise.  
"I came to look for Beast Boy…and when I was about to leave the 'House of Mirrors'…something hit me from behind. When I came to myself, I was tied up here and I managed to cut myself loose when…this pink girl came crashing in and I thought that she was the one who brought me here and I tried to fight her…but she was stronger than I thought," the ex-titan murmured, her gaze on the ground in front of her.  
"Then I guess I was right," Raven said and Terra's gaze lifted in confusion.  
"With what?"  
"With trusting you," Raven gave small smile at the confused girl.  
"I don't…think trust is gonna save us right now," Beast Boy managed to get out before the girls glanced up and they stared in shock, dust being kicked up before large pieces of the walls came tumbling down towards them as the building began collapsing.  
The two girls tried desperately to concentrate on their powers but except strain, they couldn't get anything out of themselves. There was a short silence, as realization dawned upon them.  
But they faced the changeling with smiles nonetheless before placing a comforting hand on either side of his shoulder.  
And for a moment, it was as if all the pain had just vanished with that action.  
"It doesn't have to," they replied before they all braced for the impact.  



	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: A new start For a moment, the green shape-shifter just stared at the girls in front of him in utter confusion. It doesn't have to?  
Does that mean they just…forgot about all the conflict that happened because of Tezumi – because of how he acted because of her?  
So did that mean that they forgave him?  
Did it mean that…Terra might come back – that they all could be friends again?  
A smile spread on the shape-shifter's face with that thought – even if it seemed very unlikely that he would ever see their friendship restored.  
He closed his eyes, trying to make his eyes regain their focus but the pain was another thing that kept his mind occupied. "You know…" he murmured, opening his eyes again, "…I didn't really think it would either. But I'm happy…it's there," he said and a warm feeling spread through him, seeing that their smiles – their hopes – didn't falter.  
Sound of dropping rocks and shifting cement filled the air and their hands left his shoulder only to land gently on his hands, letting him know that he wasn't going through this alone.  
A large shadow spread over them, the darkness of it the last thing they saw before they closed their eyes.  
"We will not let you die!"  
Their eyes snapped open and moved towards the approaching wall, to see it suddenly exploding as apparently, a green starbolt collided with it.  
Smaller rocks rained on them, still causing some minor damage, but at least it wasn't life-threatening.  
"S-star?" Beast Boy gasped in shock, seeing the alien floating down towards them, her hands and eyes glowing bright green.  
She was followed by Robin and Cyborg, the walls around them now starting to cave in.  
"How did you find us?" Raven asked the Tamaranian but she was cut short by her leader.  
"Now's not the time for that," Robin said and his eyes rested on the ex-titan and she avoided eye-contact.  
"Robin? Don't tell me you're waiting to see a funeral?" the half-robot cried as the walls around them started to crumble. He didn't have to wait for another word and ordered the half-robot to get Raven outside before he approached the immobile shape-shifter and lifted him as he pulled out his grappling hook and fired as close to the exit as possible.  
Starfire slowly approached Terra who had her eyes on the ground.  
"Hurry, Star," she heard Robin call to her before her eyes narrowed in determination.  
And with quick reflexes, Starfire pulled Terra to her feet before carrying her in her arms and flew upwards, occasionally shooting at approaching boulders.  
Starfire was the first to reach safe ground, followed by Cyborg before to their shock, the ceiling and walls of the building suddenly gave way completely, the debris threatening to crush them.  
Cyborg fired his cannon at the nearest wall before the two Titans rushed outside. Robin took out his explosive disks as more and definitely larger walls dropped towards them.  
"Thanks…Robin."  
The leader glanced in confusion in the direction of the low, strained voice before a small smile spread on his face.  
"For what? For trying to get you kicked off the team?" he replied before he flung the disks at the pieces of concrete, shattering the remains in the air.  
Carrying the shape-shifter piggy-back style on his back, Robin jumped through what remained of the entrance before the building completely collapsed onto itself. "Could you not jump so dramatically through the door next time?" the shape-shifter cried, trying to sit up.  
"Could you not run off with your killer next time?" Robin retorted.  
"How should I know she was trying to kill me?" Beast Boy replied angrily.  
He received a stern look from Raven and he turned away.  
"But then again…I guess I was wrong about who was trying to hurt you," the changeling heard Robin say and he looked up.  
He was received with a hand on his shoulder.  
"Maybe you were right about Terra."  
The changeling's eyes widened at hearing those magical words from Robin's mouth and he spun around.  
"Did you hear that, Terra? You can finally come…"  
His words got lost before they managed to get out when his eyes were only faced with an empty, rainy alley.  
"…home."  
His eyes lowered, realizing that he had lost her again.  
The next morning, Beast Boy woke up with the first rays of sunshine filtering through his window. He morphed into a cat, using this form to stretch his tired bones before he cried out in pain, his foot and wrist still retaining some of the damage.  
His eyes opened in surprise, when he saw that both damaged body part were wrapped in tight bandages.  
Who did this?  
Robin? No, he was too busy for stuff like that.  
Raven? A smirk spread on his face at the possibility of the stoic team member coming down from her high horse.  
But then again, she came down ever since she rescued him from getting turned into Swiss cheese.  
He walked into the kitchen and joined his already present teammates on the table for their breakfast. Just then, the crime alert rang and all of them jumped up before rushing to the T-Car.  
And as it seemed, Plasmus was again on a wrecking spree, wreaking havoc in the amusement park. But it didn't take long for the 5 heroes to defeat the pink slime monster, particularly because of their improved teamwork.  
After the pink monster was put behind bars, the members of the Teen Titans made their way back home, all running on empty stomachs.  
The changeling though, stopped after his eyes spotted a familiar coffee shop, followed by Raven and then the others.  
"It's ok," Raven said suddenly and Beast Boy turned around in confusion.  
"What? No, it's not what-"  
"I know if you want to be alone for a while. We can all understand," Raven interrupted and the changeling peeked a look at the others.  
And he stared in wonder as his team gave him looks of sympathy and understanding – something he didn't see for a long time now.  
"But what if you need me? I can't just-"  
And once again, he was interrupted, this time by beeping sounds coming from his belt pocket. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he pulled out a communicator before a smile replaced his surprised expression.  
"Just make sure we can reach you," Robin said and Beast Boy activated his device.  
He took a deep breath before he asked one final question into the device. "Are you guys sure?" he shouted into the round object and it was a miracle that their ears didn't fall off.  
"Don't make us change our minds, Beast Boy," Robin said through clenched teeth and the shape-shifter turned to the half-demon.  
"It was you, right?"  
"What?"  
"You told Terra to look for me," Beast Boy said and Raven frowned at him, causing the shape-shifter to smile at her.  
"So what if-"  
A hand landed on her shoulder before he hugged her.  
"Thanks, Rae," he murmured and she strangely wasn't repulsed by his rather intimate act.  
He pulled away before dashing off into the coffee shop.  
Raven turned away as the rest of the team made their way towards their tower. "No problem," she murmured with a smile.  
The coffee shop was deprived of people, the glaring sunlight being one of the reasons. Beast Boy dropped himself onto a seat by the counter and ordered a fruit milkshake.  
He pulled out his communicator once again, his eyes resting on the T in the center.  
A small smile spread on his face. He might have lost Terra, or if he could even consider it – Tezumi – but at least…he didn't lose his team yet.  
At least he had his friends.  
And he was more than happy to see that his friends…were also Terra's.  
Even if she…might never come back.  
He let out a tired sigh, wondering why he still kept thinking about her.  
And in that moment, his strawberry milkshake was placed onto the counter and his mouth watered at the sight of the pink glass.  
At least something would take his mind off the heat.  
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw another milkshake being placed next to him.  
He turned into that direction…and almost choked on his milkshake he had begun to consume.  
Next to him, sitting by the counter in her school uniform sat Terra. He was about to call out to her…but he stopped himself. Just like his team understood his need to be alone – to decide for himself – so did he have to understand Terra's needs.  
He reluctantly turned away from her and busied himself with his own drink again.  
"I might have told you that I'm not a hero…"  
Beast Boy's head shot up at her voice but he refused to look at her. Maybe she wasn't talking to him. Maybe she was with her friends.  
"…but I want to know…are we still friends?"  
Why would she tell that to her friends?  
Or were they?  
Okay, this was getting confusing – and he hated being confused. He looked up and was faced with blue eyes staring back at him intently.  
The changeling looked behind him nervously. "Are you…talking to me?" he asked, pointing to himself.  
And he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw her nod her head slowly. "You…always were," he murmured, feeling the heat get to his face.  
"And the others?"  
Her voice was laced with worry.  
"All of us, Terra," he reassured her and she gave him a small smile. "So is it…ok to start things over?"  
"Why start over when we can just continue where we left off?" he smiled, leaning a bit closer to the blonde-haired girl.  
"Because…things change."  
He frowned upon hearing this sentence and she giggled at him.  
"Chill out! At least we can fix…our mistakes," she murmured.  
"What mistakes? Tell me one thing you did wrong," he demanded.  
Her stare intensified. "Not telling you the truth," she murmured, leaning closer and the shape-shifter realized suddenly that they were getting too close – not that he minded though.  
He closed his eyes.  
At least they could fix this together.  
"Oh," the girl gasped and he stole a glance at her and saw with disappointment that she stood up.  
"W-what's wrong?"  
She walked past him. "I gotta be home by now."  
His eyes lowered in sadness. "Then I guess-"  
"I'll see you later," Terra smiled at him and Beast Boy realized that things might change for the better now. He waved back at her before he rushed back to his team.


End file.
